Children Of The Wild Ones
by NotSoDangerousDan
Summary: If your last name is Dixon you are pretty much screwed in life. Every one thinks you are a freak and you have to eat microwaved food every day. But if the apocalypse just happened to come along... well you might just be perfect. After her dad vanishes on a roof in Atlanta, Cameron Dixon must face this new life without him and all the challenges that come with it
1. Truth Or Dare?

_I woke up, I was stuck in a dream_

_you were there, you were tearing up_

_Everything_

_we all know how to fake it, baby_

_we all know what we've done_

_we must be killers_

_children of the wild ones_

_we must be killers_

_Where we got left to run?_

-O-

Cammie sat cross-legged outside her tent with a mixture of beads, wires and string in front of her. Sophia had been trying to teach her how to make charm bracelets for the past hour and it was becoming frustrating. Cammie looked up at the girl and sighed. "You don't have to if you don't want to" she told her, lowering her 5th failed attempt into her lap. Sophia looked up and raised a brow "I mean... You don't have to- I know you don't- ugh" she gave up and looked down. Cammie had never been good at making friends her age

Sophia smiled and picked up Cammie's charm bracelet to inspect it "It's okay, I want to" Cammie found herself smiling for a brief three seconds at Sophia's statement "This is pretty good" she said, handing the bracelet back to Cammie

"Really?" She asked excitedly, taking it into her hands to look at it herself. Cammie followed Sophia's instructions perfectly; cover the wire in coloured string, add beads, tie together so it wouldn't fall apart and she hadn't even realised

"Yeah it's awesome" Sophia giggled as she started up her tenth bracelet. Why was she making so many? who where they for? Cammie shook the thought away and began making some more. This was fun... Also terrifying. One of the faults of not being able to make friends is well... you have no friends and Cammie was extremely unsure of what she was suppose to be doing. Just sitting in more or less silence seemed to be working so far but that might not work forever

Cammie was also very aware of Ed; Sophia's dad who was watching them very carefully. Ed gave off a really bad vibe and Sophia had even told Cammie how scared she was of him. That hurt Cammie... a lot. When Cammie was younger -before her dad got a job, they all lived with their Grand-dad and he wasn't a very nice guy. Cammie had tried to comfort Sophia and even allowed her to share a sleeping bag but in the morning when Carol found her, she was banned from doing it again. The people at this camp don't really trust the Dixon's

"Hey I'll be right back" Cammie quickly said, pulling herself to her feet. She brushed some dirt of her faded blue jeans and then jogged off towards the cars at the other side of the camp that were now packed up and ready to go. They were running low on supplies which meant it was time to go get some. Problem was the nearest place that even had the possibilities of what they needed was Downtown Atlanta which was swarmed with what they call 'Walkers' Walker's were your worst nightmare. They were hell on earth... they were undead.

She quietly approached behind her dad who was busy checking if he had enough rounds in the chamber of his rifle. She raised her arms up, ready to scare him and almost jumped out of her own skin in fear when he spun around and grabbed her wrists "Maybe next time, kid" he chuckled, turning back around. Cammie walked to the other side of him and leaned up against the car, crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips

"Do you have to go?" She finally asked, clear sadness in her voice. She didn't want him to go. What if something went wrong? What if they all turned against him? It was a possibility - A stupid one at that but still a possibility

"Yup" He nodded his head once before laying his rifle down and slamming the trunk down, causing her to flinch. Merle caught the little movement and for a brief second found himself frowning. Is she always going to be so jumpy? So careful? He was going to have to try and do something about that "Yeah I uh..." He scratched his nose as he tried to think of a lie. Truth was, they were going to rob this camp tomorrow night and this supply run meant more supplies to take for their own. If he went he could make sure they got everything they needed "Who else is gonna make sure they don't fuck up, huh?"

Cammie played with this thought in her head. She guessed it made sense. These people didn't really feel like the sharpest tools in the shed and there is a chance they could miss something important "Alright" she breathed out "But just in case..." She took off the Yellow and green bracelet, grabbed his wrist and then shoved it on "A good luck charm"

Merle admired the little bracelet on his wrist and grinned. He looked down at his daughter and pulled her into a tight hug "Thank you, darlin'" He said, finally pulling away after he heard that prick T-Dog from the front seat of the car to hurry the hell up. Keeping one hand on her shoulder he messed her hair and promised "I'll be back before you wake up tomorrow, don't worry" and then he jogged to the driver seat.

She stepped a few paces back to allow the car to drive off so it could follow the other. She waved until she was sure Merle couldn't see her anymore and stayed in her spot so she could watch the car disappear into the mountain sides. She felt a hand on her shoulder where her dad's had just been and turned her head to see Sophia smiling at her "He'll be okay" she reassured Cammie. Cammie smiled and looked down, thankful for the remark

"You wanna play tag?" Sophia's question confused Cammie. Tag? what the hell was tag? "Cause the others were wondering if you wanted to Join..." picking up on Cammie's confusion, she felt like she might laugh "You do know what Tag is?" Cammie shook her head, causing Sophia to grab the girls hand forcefully and completely ignore Cammie's flinch "I'll show you"

-O-

Mary huffed, annoyed and lowered her crossbow. Her and her brother had been out here since dawn trying to hunt down some food that the camp demanded. She wiped some sweat from her brow and looked over at Daryl who was staring off into the deeper parts of the woods, trying to spot any sort of movement from the deer they had been tracking "Daryl" she waved her hands in front of his face, bringing him out his trance "Did you hear me?" Daryl raised a brow and tilted his head. Mary huffed once again. Of course he didn't hear her. She should of guessed

"I said I'm gonna go back" Daryl gave her a 'What-the-hell-for' look and she chuckled "It's getting close to evening which means Merle left a couple of hours ago and Cammie's all alone. Do you trust those guys to take care of her? Cause I sure don't" Daryl nodded in agreement

"Alright... Better at huntin' alone anyhow" He joked, nudging her shoulder with his own. Mary rolled her eyes and took off in the direction that they came from "Hey! Tell Cammie she better not touch my Oreo's!" she gave him a two finger salute without turning around which seemed to be good enough for him. He swears if Cammie even eats one more of his oreo's then he was gonna kill her

Mary arrived back at camp, it felt calm. She strolled through the quarry making sure to say her hello's to some of the people including Amy who she had become quite close with since they were both close in age. Amy was also the one to point out the Dixon girls seemed to be a lot tamer than the Dixon boys which was very hard to believe after you met Merle. As soon as you greet him you immediately assume that anyone associated with him are the same. The truth was that he was the wild card. Daryl isn't even that bad

"Hey Mary!" Her head looked over to see a sweaty Cammie. She waved back but she doubted Cammie saw it since as soon as her hand was in the air Cammie had darted off to avoid being grabbed by Lori's son Carl. Mary smiled, watching her niece running around with other children around her age was heart-warming to her. She remembers Cammie constantly getting into fights before and never being able to grasp the concept of friendship. Took the damn dead to rise for her to finally find some friends

_Well better late than never_

Cammie kept glancing over at Mary who had found her way to Dale's RV to chat with him and Jim. Mary was so socialble it hurt. If you put them both in a room with twenty complete strangers Cammie could guarantee that Mary would become best friends with all of them while she would be sitting in the corner of the room in the fetal position crying

Her head spun around when she felt a slap on her back and saw Carl grinning at her and slowly stepping away "Tag" Carl was Lori and she thinks Shane's son. Shane and Carl didn't have the same last name and they didn't really look alike but she's seen Lori and Shane sneak off into the forest a couple times so she just assumed that they were together. Maybe he's a step dad

"You'll pay for that Grimes" she teased, stepping forward

"You're gonna have to catch me first" he laughed before turning and vaulting over one of the seating log's. Cammie narrowed her eyes and quickly followed. She chased him around the camp for a while, dodging various adults and blocking out the yells that were directed at her when she almost ran into somebody or something. She was actually so caught up in trying not to mess up, she tripped and face planted on the ground. She slowly sat herself up, a hand covering her nose where it hurt the most

"Are you okay?" he asked, skidding next to her

"My face hurts" she said, her voice getting muffled in her hands. His eyes went wide which concerned her a bit "Whats wrong?" she looked up to see Sophia gasping and Morales children weren't even looking at her

"MOM!" Carl yelled back at Lori who was sitting with Jaqui talking about how they were going to cook today's forest surprise courtesy of the Dixon's. Lori stood up and jogged over after seeing all the fuss "Look" he pointed at Cameron who was still unsure of what was gong on

"Oh honey, here" Lori kneeled in front of her and tilted her chin up, moved her hands and pinched the bridge of Cammie's nose

"What are you doing" Cammie tried moving but Lori kept her at bay

"Honey your nose is bleeding. Can't you feel it?" Cammie shook her head and crossed her eyes down so she could try and get a look. Nose bleed? is that why she suddenly felt light headed? Jaqui was next to come over with a tissue. Lori took it and held it over the girls nose "What happened?"

"I fell" she answered honestly

"You must of fallen pretty hard - here" She took Cammie's hand and pushed it on the tissue and then took her own hand away "You feel better yet?" Cammie shrugged "Carl go get some water" she ordered her young son who obliged without hesitation. This just wasn't quitting "Sophia sweetie go get Mary" Sophie nodded and jogged of to find her aunt "C'mon" she helped Cammie to her feet and made sure that she kept pressure on her nose. She led her over to one of the chairs so she could have an actual seat and sat with her until Mary came over

"What the hell happened?" She asked, moving over to take Cammie's place in holding the tissue

"She said she fell. Her nose wont stop bleeding"

"Oh, thanks for watching her. I got it from here" Mary said without looking up at the women. Lori nodded, her lips pursed. She seemed to be the only person Mary didn't try and get to know and that bothered her slightly. Why didn't she want to talk to her? Was there something wrong with her? She sighed and turned to walk away when she heard Cammie's voice

"Thanks Lori" She smiled back at the girl before turning back. When Cammie said it it sounded like she meant it. She said it with heart. Not like her aunt who said it bland like and without emotion. When Mary said it it sounded more like 'Okay you can leave now' but not with Cammie. Lori liked Cammie. It was hard to believe she was a Dixon

"Mom I got the water" She looked down at Carl who had approached her, bottle in hand

"Go give it to her then" Lori smiled and nodded over to Cammie whose whole bottom face was covered in wet blood. She looked like she had just shoved her face into a plate of meat. She continued to smile as Carl ran over to his new friend and helped clean up her face and laughed as he did so. It's good for him to have a best friend. Well she was pretty sure they were best friends. He certainly didn't laugh like that with Sophia and she doubted he would clean up Sophia's blood.

-O-

When the supply-run group hadn't returned in the morning, people started getting agitated. When they weren't back by breakfast, people started getting worried and by the time lunch came around and not a car was in sight, most were frantic. Morales wife was praying alone in her tent and her children weren't in a talkitive mood so it was just Cammie, Carl and Sophia today

"Where do you think they are?" Carl asked, putting down another card. For the past ten minutes they had been playing snap to try and take their minds off things... well Cammie's mind. It was her dad out there after all

Cammie shrugged, putting down her card. She also hadn't said much but un-like Morales children, she wasn't avoiding anybody

"They probably just got lost" Sophia commented, putting down her own card and then quick as she could slammed her hand down and yelled 'SNAP' which caused Cammie to jump and then hold her hand over her heart in a joking manner

"You almost gave me a heart attack" she chuckled, setting her cards down on the grass and staring ahead "I don't think they would get lost" she said, brining attention back to Sophia's earlier comment "My dad has never gotten lost in his life. If anything a car just broke down"

"Yeah..." Carl nodded, agreeing with her "Well I'm bored of this" he sat his cards down on the grass in a similar manner to Cammie and huffed "What do you wanna do?"

"We could play Tag" Sophia suggested

"Never again" Cammie groaned, rolling her eyes up and tilting her head back

"Truth or dare?" Carl suggested. Cammie sucked her lips in and thought about it. She had never played truth or dare but she knew the basic mechanics of how it worked. After awhile, she sat herself up straight and nodded

"Yeah alright. Sophia?" she looked at the red head, awaiting confirmation

"Sure" So that's what they did for the next hour or so. Doing stupid little dares and answering random questions. Cammie had dared Carl to steal Nutella from the RV and carl Carl almost got caught stealing it he managed to just slip by before Dale turned around and the three of them enjoyed it immensely. They learned Sophia used to have an embarrassing crush on some boy in her old class and almost tackled kissed him which made Cammie make vomiting noises which brought Sophia to her next thought

"Truth or Dare?" She asked, narrowing her eyes, begging Cammie to chose dare

"Dare" she said, mimicking Sophia's gaze.

Sophia grinned, sat herself up straight and crossed her arms over her chest "I dare you to kiss Carl" Carl wasn't sure how to react so went with sticking his tongue out of his mouth and make gagging noises much like Cammie was doing in the other direction away from him "What are you chicken?"

"No!" Cammie defended herself

"Then do it already!" Cammie awkwardly looked over at Carl and strained her face. This was going to be awful

"For the dare?" she asked him quietly

"For the dare" he repeated and then slowly they leaned. When their puckered lips met they stilled, not sure what to do. It was awkward that was for sure and Cammie still had her eyes open

"That's not how you kiss!" Sophia groaned, slumping back. "You gotta..." she flaied her hands "Move your mouths or something" Cammie pulled back and looked at her in an almost defeated fashion

"Can't we stop? I already did it!"

"You have to do it properly"

"Whhyyyyy" Cammie whined. Sophia just grinned. She was never going to tell them that she actual thought they were adorable together. She always did like pairing her friends up

"If you don't then you have to forfeit"

"Forfeit?!" she almost screeched "What forfeit?!"

"If you don't do it you have to..." she looked around, trying to find something so terrible that Cammie would instantly refuse "Grab Shane's butt!" she finally called out and then immediatly slammed her hands over her mouth. She said that rather loud.

Cammie looked over at Carl panicked and in the next second, Cammie had grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to her. Sophia claspped her hands together and grinned like a fool as she watched her two friends kiss. This went perfectly

They might of forgotten that Sophia was even there. This thing... kissing. It was great! Why weren't they taught this earlier? This should be a subject in school! Cammie quickly pulled back and looked over in the direction of the camp after she heard a loud beeping sound "What is that?" she asked, standing up

Carl quickly collected himself and cleared his voice "It's uh... I think it's a car horn" Cammie's eyes shot open

"Maybe its them!" She yelled before running off

-O-

**Sophia I see you shipping there -_-**

**Okay! So yes this is loosesly based of my previous story 'Blood' which I stopped writing because I got bored of it and I just thought it was so terrible. Then I decided I loved the fact that Merle had a daughter so I said 'Hey! Why not re-write it? But better..." so that is exactly what I did. You will also notice that there is an extra Dixon in here who I based off one of my friends. You know who you are! *waves* (I changed their name of course) **

**Also, Cammie actually acts like a twelve year old! Atleast.. I'm pretty sure this is how twelve year olds act... oh well. It's better than how she was before. She was one crazy psychopath who acted WAAAYYYY older and got involved in things she shouldn't of like the decision with Jim and going down to the basement at the CDC and other things. But yeah.. I like this version a lot better and I hope you do to**

**And if anyone is wondering of just wants a face to match the names I imagine Cammie as Krissy Chambers from Supernatural (Played by Madison Mclaughlin) and Emilia Clarke is Mary**

**Follow/Favourite if you want to see more and PM/review to tell me what you liked/didn't like about this chapter or the story in general**

**Till next time folks**

**~Daniel**


	2. Before You Wake

Cameron emerged from the tree's and jogged over to where the small crowd was. Instead of the two cars that left, there was a giant van which meant they must of had troubles. She made sure to check her tent first incase her dad had already retreated back there but he wasn't. There was only Mary who was napping

She ran over and skidded to a halt and looked around, jumping slightly on her tip toes. She craned her neck around to look at the back of the truck where everyone was piling out and completely ignored the sad, guilty looks people were giving her. When he didn't show she chose to run over to the back to see if he was taking his time but when she looked in it was empty. She turned, her face dropping. She counted everyone and the same amount of people came back except her dad wasn't here

"DAD!" She looked over to where she heard Carl yelling and saw him run into the arms of a man she didn't recognize. Who the hell was that and why was he here and not her own father? Cameron pushed the thought to the side and ran over to Andrea who was admiring the scene with her sister Amy

"Where's my dad?" she asked the women. Andrea bit her bottom lip and her eyes looked to the left. Cameron had learned awhile back that when people look to the left its because they are trying to make something up and when they look to the right its because they are trying to remember; knowing these things helped her read people

"Andrea" Cammie's voice croaked out, stepping back "Where is he!" she demanded

"Cammie..."

"NO!" She screamed, drawing everyone's attention. She dropped herself to the ground as her legs couldn't work anymore and dug her nails into the dirt "NO!" She lay herself back, brought her legs up and held her hands over her face and tried not to cry. If this was some kind of big joke or if he just emerged out of no where she wouldn't want to give him the benefit

"Hey" a soft voice whispered. The man placed a hand on her shoulder that she immediately pushed away. Cammie scrabbled to her feet to get away from him "I'm not going to hurt you" he said calmly. Cammie finally got a good look at this guy. He was wearing a police uniform, neat brown hair, blue eyes and some stubble just like the rest of the guys. Cammie's eyes darted around to see everyone watching -Carl especially. Was this his dad?

"My name's Rick" He said calmly. Morales told him that there was some who would be angry about Merle being left behind; his daughter especially. If someone had told Rick that that man was a father he wouldn't of left him there. He would of told Merle that his kid just saved his life and left him with a warning

"Where's my dad" Right now, Cameron didn't care about his name; all she wanted was her dad

"There... there was an incident" He told her, slowly pushing himself back up

"What kinda incident?!"

"Your dad... " Rick wasn't sure what to say. On one hand, he wanted to tell her the full truth but on the other he didn't want to make Merle out to be a bad guy to his kid "He was putting everyone in danger so-"

"You killed him?!" she took a step forward. Rick felt his hand shooting backwards. He could sense Shane advancing towards them but he needed to do this one on one

"No" Rick shook his head, bringing himself back to her level "No I just... I handcuffed him to a roof. He's still there"

"You... you handcuffed my dad to a roof?!" Her breath hitched in her throat and she felt like her heart had just been ripped from her body. Her dad; the one who had been with her since she was a baby, had gotten two jobs to support her and had done everything in his power to make sure she was safe was handcuffed to a roof. That was it. She stormed forward and her fist collided with his nose

"CAMMIE!" Shane yelled, running over and wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back to stop her from doing anymore damage. Lori had also run over to make sure Rick was alright but he brushed her off to look back at Cammie

"Let her go, Shane" Rick ordered, slowly moving towards Cammie who had dropped back down to her knee's. He was as good as dead on that roof -if walkers didn't get him then dehydration would "Cammie... Cammie look at me" She looked up with tear filled eyes and a pained expression plastered on her face "I would never- never of done it if I had known..." Rick stopped when he was right in front of her and expected her to punch him again but what she did do shocked him. She leaned her head against his chest as she sobbed quietly and even went as far to let him wrap his arms around her; something she didn't let many do

"It's alright" He gulped looking up at Shane who was staring at the two of them with a great amount of shock. Who in their right mind would seek comfort in the man that left their father for dead? Maybe that's why she did it... she wasn't in her right mind. She wasn't thinking. All she knew was that she might never see her dad again

-O-

Mary watched Cameron carefully; the girl hadn't slept all night and she was sure she heard her crying at some points -She couldn't blame her though; she did just lose her dad. Mary scoffed. The idea of Merle being a dad was still weird to her. Mary never really got along with Merle. She tolerated him for Cammie. Everyday she felt like she might strangle the guy but she held back. If she could of afforded it, she would of moved out of that Deer farm and got her own place

Cameron was just sitting by herself, fiddling with a butterfly knife. She hadn't talked to anyone since yesterday. From what Mary heard, after she pulled away from the hug with Rick she retreated off into the forest and didn't come back until night fall. The worst part was that she was covered in some type of blood. Cammie never was good at handling anger -she let it build up in her over some time and then when it got to much she just let it explode. Cammie idolized Merle and to just have him ripped away like that... Mary didn't have a clue what she must be feeling. Anger... sadness... that would be putting it lightly.

Children's screams broke the silence and Cammie was up and running towards it before anyone else. She felt protective over the friends she had. Maybe because if she lost them then she knew she would be alone again and that's something she doesn't want

"CAMMIE STOP!" Mary yelled, running after her. If something's wrong she didn't want to put Cammie in danger with the rest

Cammie stopped when she saw her two friends were okay. She walked up to them and flung her arms around Sophia. She couldn't even handle the thought of losing someone else she cared about

"What happened?" she asked, pulling back and looking between Carl and Sophia

"There was one of those... things" A walker? But they aren't suppose to be up this far up the mountains

Cammie was about to say something when Daryl appeared, followed by the small group of men that went in to kill the walker "Hey Cam" He said, nodding at her before walking past, calling out Merle's name. Cameron followed quickly and pushed past Mary who had been standing next to Lori

"DARYL WAIT!" She called after him, slowing him in his tracks. She wasn't going to let some strangers tell him the news - that and he wouldn't punch her when she's finished explaining

"What? -hey where's Merle?" He asked, looking around

Cammie could feel tears threatening to spill again. Would she be able to tell him? Should she let Mary do it? "That's..." She sniffed "That's what I need to tell you... Dad... he..." She let out a shaky breath and looked away

"He dead?"

"I don't know" she said quietly

"HE EITHER IS OR HE AINT!"

"There isn't any need for you to yell at her" Rick said, coming to her side. Cameron wiped her eyes with her sleeves and avoided the look Daryl was giving her

"Who the hell is this? -who the hell are you?!"

"Rick Grimes"

"Well _Rick Grimes_... you wanna explain yourself?"

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked to a piece of metal. He's still there" Rick explained, giving Cammie a side way glance

"Hold on... let me process this" Daryl turned away and dragged his hand down his face "You're tellin' me that _you_ handcuffed my brother to a roof and you_ left_ him there?!"

"Yeah" Rick nodded, ashamed. Daryl threw his bag over Rick's head, causing him to duck and then charged but was quickly shoved to the side by Shane. Daryl quickly got him off and pulled out his knife and began swinging it, making sure to say clear of his niece who had jumped back when the knife was brought out

Shane and Rick worked together to bring Daryl down and that's when Cammie had had enough of standing back. As soon as Shane had put him in a choke hold Cammie was smacking him and demanding that he let her uncle go. Mary pulled Cammie away since she could do nothing and pulled out her own gun to aim at Shane. That was her twin he was holding

"Don't you know Choke holdings illegal?" She asked, filled with confidence. She wasn't scared of Shane. She actually despised him and had been waiting for a chance to shoot him "You best let him go before I file a complaint" she pulled the safety off, smiling when she heard the familiar click

Rick moved in between her and Shane, his arms up in defence "We just want to have a calm discussion alright? You can put that gun away and my friend will let go of your brother" Mary looked behind him to still see Shane holding on to him, his grip tightening causing Daryl to look distressed

"Let him go first and then we'll talk. I also want to know why you thought it was best to leave him on the roof" Mary hadn't been told any details. All she got from Cameron was that '_the cop left him there because he was a danger or something_' that sounded like Merle but it wasn't enough. He was always a danger but no one had felt the need to leave him for dead

Rick looked at Shane, pleading with his eyes. He didn't doubt for a second that the Dixon would shoot them all for her brother. With a sigh, Shane complied and let go. Daryl scrambled to his feet and moved a safe distance away from Shane who he now hated more than ever

Looking between the twins, Rick started speaking "What I did was not on a whim -in fact I would not of done it at all if I knew he had a daughter and I wanted you to know that but your brother does not play well with others"

"It's not Rick's fault" T-Dog spoke up, joining the discussion "I had the key. I dropped it"

"You couldn't pick it up?!" Daryl breathed out, still getting his breath back

"Well I dropped it in a drain"

"Of course you did" Mary sighed, rubbing her temple

"Look... I changed the door to the roof so the geek's couldn't get at him, with a padlock"

"That's gotta count for something" Rick added

Daryl thought for a moment and then shook his head. Daryl didn't cry... men do not cry -that's what Merle always told him. Well not in those exact words. "Just... just tell me where he is, so's I can go get him" Daryl asked, trying to keep his voice even

Go get him? Cammie hadn't even thought of that. She ran forward and looked up at Rick "You'll show him right? You'll help him get my dad back?" Rick looked down at her and nodded after thinking for a second

"Yeah... I'll go back"

-O-

"What do you mean I can't come?!" Cammie yelled, following her aunt and uncle. After Rick agreed to go back, a small group was formed to help. Glenn was going since he knew the city like the back of his hand and T-Dog because he felt bad about losing the key. So that was four people going out to save Merle and Cammie wanted to make it five

"You're just a kid, that's why" Mary told her, climbing into the back of the truck

"Wait.. you're going? You're just going to leave me here by myself?!" Mary nodded and helped Daryl up

"You know how Daryl is. I don't wanna risk another Dixon getting trapped"

"MERLE DIXON? HE AINT WORTH ONE OF YOUR LIVES EVEN WITH GUNS THROWN IN!" Cammie turned when she heard Lori yelling. She didn't want Rick to leave.

Cammie turned back to her aunt and Uncle with a pained expression "Please don't leave me alone with them" she was scared that they were going to blame her. She was most of the reason Rick was going back after all

"Hey..." Mary said, softening her voice "You'll be fine. And don't worry, we'll be back before you wake up" Cameron nodded her head and looked down. That's exactly what Merle said before he left... he never came back

According to Daryl the group was taking too long so he pushed his foot on the horn and yelled at them to hurry their asses up. That was enough for Rick and T-dog to finally climb in. Before Mary could close the shutters of the Van, Daryl yelled to Cammie

"You be good, ya hear?!" Cammie ginned, stepping back

"Sure"

"And don't let anyone touch our food stash!"

**Woo new chapter! Right now I'm just kinda writing out future chapters for this story since I want them out of the way so I can work on my other stories without this one in the back of my mind since I don't want it to turn out like blood where I just completely ignored it.. so yeah. If I do this then I can do daily updates (hopefully) while still being able to focus on other things. I think I might keep writing until they reach Hershels farm. So that would be a good amount of chapters before I had to start writing it again.**

**I imagine Daryl to have a sweet tooth I don't know why so yeah.. that's there**

**Follow/Favourite if you want to see more and PM/Review to tell me what you liked/didn't like about this chapter or the story in general**


	3. Tougher Than Most

The day went on as normal as it could in the apocalypse. Carl didn't avoid Cammie like she thought he would and even invited her to catch frogs with him and Shane but she passed and instead went with Sophia to play dolls. She would of course rather catch frogs than play with Barbie's but she got the feeling Shane didn't like her

The two of them where down by the water near the women who were stuck with doing the laundry. From where they sat, they had had a clear view of Shane and Carl and they looked like they were having fun. That was until Lori took Carl away for some reason. Ever since Carl's dad came back, she had been giving Shane the cold shoulder. Where they not together? Had she been... cheating on Carls dad? Cammie always assumed Shane and Lori were together and she stuck with that even when Rick came back. She had thought him and Lori weren't together

"What's wrong?" Sophia asked, picking up on the Dixon's annoyance. She hadn't really looked like she was enjoying brushing the hairs of her dolls

"This is so stupid" She responded, grumbling under her breath

"Nobodies asking you to do it" Sophia told her, taking the doll that had been so cruelly flung on the ground by the Dixon moments ago and smoothed it out

"Good" she crossed her arms over her chest and looked down.

"They're going to be okay" Sophia said softly, trying to cheer Cammie up "They're gonna bring back your dad and everything will be fine"

"Yeah I know" Cammie sighed, wiping her nose on her sleeve. Cammie looked up and caught Ed's eyes. He had been watching them for a while now and was starting to make his way over. She quickly looked away, feeling more uncomfortable than before "Your dad's coming over..." she said quietly, as if he could hear them. Sophia looked up to try and find him and shifted her gaze away quickly, her face dropping

"I don't like him" she admitted, looking at the ground as if she were guilty. Cause it was wrong to hate your father, right?

"Me neither" Cammie told her "He gives me the creeps" she whispered as his footsteps drew closer and then suddenly stopped and Cammie felt his presence next to her

"C'mon Sophia, get up" Sophia looked up at him, shying away slightly

"Why?" She asked softly, sounding as if she regretted the decision instantly

"Because I said so"

"I'm just playing wi-" Ed Glared at her with sharp eyes, shutting her up immediately. He then cast his gaze over to the young Dixon

"I know... and I want it to stop" 

"But she's my friend!" Sophia blurted out

"Not anymore" He roughly grabbed a hold of Sophia's arm and yanked her up "You stay way from my kid!" He spat at Cammie "All you are is trouble! And your gonna turn out just like your dad and I dont want you hurting Sophia!"

Cammie was trying to hold it together. She was doing good at that aswell but when the last sentence left his disgusting mouth she couldn't hold it in anymore. She stood up and yelled, stopping him in his tracks "You mean like how _you_ hurt Sophia?! I saw her bruises!" Ed turned, glaring at her "You're a terrible dad!"

"What did you say?" He sneered. Cammie cowered under his stare and backed up as he stepped forward "You think you know me, kid?! You don't know shit!" He stormed her and shoved her hard, sending her to the ground "Just like your stupid fucking daddy!" By now, the women that were near were screaming and running over. They had been watching the scene unfold and were already making their way over when Ed had grabbed Sophia but when he roughly pushed the Dixon girl, they were sprinting

"ED!" Andrea yelled, smacking his chest, pushing him back away from the girl, Amy and Jaqui were next to Cameron, making sure she was okay and Carol had pulled Sophia away from the scene

Cammie groaned, sitting up. She looked at the two women on her side then up at Ed and gasped in shock when Shane jumped him. No one had seen him coming or even heard his footsteps. He was on Ed in seconds and before anyone could fully take in what was going on Shane's fists were pummeling into his face

"You ever put your hands on anybody in this camp again -_especially_ a child, I will not stop next time" He hissed at him finally after what felt like a millennia of loud screams that consisted of nothing but '_Stop_' "Cause I'll beat you to death, Ed" with one final punch, Shane stood himself up and stepped away from Ed and towards Cammie. He held his bloody and bruised hand out towards her, waiting for her to take it. Amy and Jaqui looked at her, seeing what she would do. It shocked them that she actually did

Shane pulled her to her feet, brushed some dirt of her back and then stormed away. Most probably wouldn't take the hand of a man that almost just beat someone to death. But Cammie wasn't most. Shane did what had to be done. If he hadn't of almost killed Ed, sent him a message, theres no telling what he could of done to Sophia and/or Carol. He could of_ killed_ them

"You okay?" Amy asked her quietly, standing up.

Cammie looked over at Amy and nodded quickly "Yeah..." Was it a lie? She didn't feel okay thats for sure. The last time she had been shoved like that was 5 or 6 years ago -When all the Dixon's still shared a crappy house with their dad (Cammie's grandfather) And he wasn't so nice... liked to push her around when he was drunk. She thinks thats why Merle suddenly decided to join the Military. Made some money, moved them out. She didn't think he liked seeing bruises on her. If she remembers correctly, one night he brought it up to her grand-dad but... that didn't go so well "... Just fine" she finished, scratching the back of her head

-O-

"MERLE! MERLE!" Daryl screamed, running through the roof door before anybody else. Mary still didn't like Merle but she couldn't deny she missed him like crazy in the time he had been gone. She just wanted to get him back and see Cameron actually smile... it was nice when she smiled

"MERLE YOU BETTER BE ALIVE!" Mary yelled, running after her brother and looking all around the roof, trying to get a peak of his bald head. There was nothing. She stopped behind Daryl and gulped, looking away

"NO! NO!" Daryl yelled, half angry half grief stricken. There was the pipe and the handcuffs that were attached and next to it... Mary felt like she was going to be sick. There, next to the handcuffs was a bloody hacksaw and a severed hand; Merles hand

By now, the others were slowly making their way over and Daryl new this. Taking shallow breaths and filled with rage, he spun around and raised his cross bow at T. and in turn Rick raised his gun to Daryl's head and it only felt right to have Mary lift up her bow and aim it at Rick's head

"How many times we gonna have to do this?" She asked, almost bored of the whole thing

"Tell your brother to put his down and I'll put my down" Rick told her sternly. She sighed and looked to Daryl who caught her eyes. They had a full conversation without even talking, something they did often. It was a twin thing. Daryl dropped his bow, a sullen look still on his face

Mary hated seeing him this way. It killed her actually. She glanced back at Merles hand and decided to go over to it. She kneeled down and dipped her finger in the blood "Fresh" she said, actually relieved "It's fresh" she said a little louder, standing up straight "He's probably nearby"

"You got a do-rag or something?" Daryl asked T-dog, calming down a bit. T. reached into his back pocket and pulled out the rag he had asked for and handed it to him. Daryl took it, flicked it and then made his way over to Mary. He picked Merles hand up in the rag, grimacing slightly

"What the hell are you doin'?" Mary asked, a mix of disgusted and shocked

"He's gonna need it when we find him, aint he?" He turned to Glenn and beckined him over. When Glenn didn't move he huffed and went over to him. He turned Glenn around and shoved the hand in his bag. Glenn wasn't too thrilled about the whole thing

"I got a track!" Mary called, drawing the attention of her brother. She nodded downwards towards the little splatters of blood that continued across the roof. They followed it into the door on the other side of the roof with their weapons raised at all times. They didn't really want a walker or an angry Merle jumping at them

"MERLE? YOU IN HERE?" Daryl called out, descending down the stairs. No answer

Mary shot an arrow into a walker that was stumbling around inside the first apartment they entered. Apart from it, this place seemed pretty empty but the trail led in here so they were just hoping for the best... well Mary and Daryl were. Not sure about the rest. I don't really think they cared either way. Maybe Rick did. He did promise Cammie after all

They headed out of the apartment and into the hallway, meeting up with the rest of the group who had went around and together walked carefully down the hall and into an open space where two walkers lay dead

"He still had enough in him to take out these assholes?" Mary said in disbelief, looking to Daryl

"Toughest son of a bitch I ever met, our brother"

"More like the most stubborn" She muttered under her breath

"Any man can pass out from blood loss, no matter how tough he is" Rick told them, lifting his gun up slightly and moving forward through the halls of the large building. Merle may not want to admit it, but he could be taken down easy in the right circumstances. He liked to believe he was immortal, that nothing could kill Merle Dixon. But take away a mans hand and any chance of medical help, then you got a problem

"Merle!" Daryl yelled again, starting to annoy Mary

"Shut up!" She hissed "We aint the only douchebags in here"

"Screw that" He hissed back "He could be bleedin' out, you heard Officer Friendly"

"His name is Rick" Ever she was getting tired of the nickname that Rick had accidentally given himself "And how the hell we gonna save him if our asses get bit?" that seemed to convince him and he shut up

"In here" She said quietly, walking into a large kitchen area. Mary guessed this is where tenants would cook if their kitchen broke. Smart. She walked in and screwed her face up in disgust apon noticing the still burning cooker and the slab of metal that had burned skin on it

"He cauterised the stump" Rick said, flabbergasted

"Sumbitch smarter than I thought" Mary breathed out, looking around

"Told you he was tough" Daryl said softly, almost looking proud of Merle. Then again, Daryl had always idolized Merle, much like Cammie "Nobody can kill Merle but Merle"

"Don't take that on faith" Rick advised him "He's lost a lot of blood"

"Yeah..." Daryl said, pointing over to the smashed window on the other side of the room "Didn't stop him from breaking out of this death trap"

"He busted out of the building?" Glenn exclaimed, shocked "Why the hell would he do that?"

"Why not?" Mary asked, shrugging her shoulders "As far as that asshole knows he's all alone. I'da busted out too. Just surviving"

"You call that surviving?" T-dog commented, following the twins who had already walked away from the group to find a way out "Just wondering out in the streets? Maybe passing out? What are his odds here"

"Alright T" Mary almost exploded, turning around and stopping him "I'm getting real tired of you betting against my brother, alright? Now I may dislike him, but he is still my kin and whether you like it or not, he is still fighting because he is a Dixon and that's what Dixon's do. We fight. When the world is against us, we fight and we always come out top. You understand me?" She narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to say something against her

"Yeah..." He gulped, nodding "Got it"

"And you" She turned her attention to Rick "Stop being so negative. You and a pair of stupid handcuffs couldn't end him and neither will some stupid dead prick"

"What about 1,000 dead pricks? Cause that's a whole other story" She leaned in close to him

"Only Merle can kill Merle" she quoted her twin and smiled "C'mon Daryl. Let's go get our brother before he actually does kill himself" she went to turn and almost punched Rick in the face when he grabbed her

"Hey!" Daryl stepped in, pushing the officer away from his sister "Don't touch her"

"I don't blame you guys. He's family, I get that. I went through hell to find m-"

"Your family was safe in our camp, MINES OUT THERE ALONE BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T KEEP YOUR HANDCUFFS IN YOUR PANTS" Daryl stuck his arm out, keeping his sister at bay. She was really starting to get pissed

"And I'm sorry" she snorted "He can't get far with that injury" He started lowering his voice, hoping that she would copy "We can help you check a few blocks but only if we keep a level head" Daryl sucked in his bottom lip, thinking it over. He looked to Mary who looked as if she was trying to calm herself down

"I can do that" He agreed as calm as he could "Mary?" Mary dragged her hands down her face and breathed out

"Fine" she huffed

"Only if we get those guns first" T-dog added, coming back into the conversation "I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, OK?" He held his hands up in defence

"Fair enough" Mary agreed, looking back at Rick "So where are the guns, Ricky?"

-O-

Jim had been acting all sorts of weird since sun up and people were starting to get concerned. Dale had brought attention to the fact that he wouldn't stop digging wholes and refused to drink any water. If they didn't do anything then he would die of dehydration and exposure. So the whole group headed up the hill where he was located and hoped all of them being there would help him

He refused to acknowledge that he was doing anything wrong though, saying he wasn't harming anyone and that he felt fine. Lori told him he was scaring the kids; Carols Daughter, her son and the Dixon girl. Morales decided he didn't want his children to see so they had stayed down the hill and out of the conversation

"They got nothing to be scared of" He tried reasoning, looking over at said children who were standing with Carol "I mean, what the hell, people? I'm out here by myself. Why don't you all just go and leave me the hell alone?" He then pushed his shovel back on the dirt and began digging again

"We think that maybe you need to take a break" Shane told him, stepping nearer to him "Why don't you get yourself in the shade? Some food maybe. I'll tell you what, maybe in a little bit, I'll come out here and help you myself. Jim, just tell me what it's about. Why don't you go ahead and give me that shovel?"

"Or what?" He retorted, becoming aggravated

"There is no '_Or what_'. I'm asking you" Shane replied, keeping himself calm and collected, not wanting to have to do to Jim what he did to Ed "I'm coming to you and I'm asking you, please. I don't wanna have to take it from you"

"And if I don't, then what?"

"Please give him the shovel, Jim" A voice spoke out. The two men turned to see Cammie looking distressed "Please" she pleaded "I don't want to lose anyone else"

"See Ed, you're scaring them" Shane told him "Please"

"Why? Are you gonna beat my face in like you did with Ed Peletier?" He looked up to the rest of the group "Ya'll seen his face, huh? What's left of it anyway"

"He had it coming" Cammie spoke out again

"Cam I get you wanna help but please stay out of it, okay Darlin'?" Shane turned to her. With a sigh, Cammie nodded and stepped back "Thank you"

"Ed was out of control" Amy said, defending Shane "He was hurting the kid's"

"That is not his problem! You don't almost kill a man because he shoved a little girl who probably had it coming!" He snapped. Cammie gasped, hurt at his statement. She scrunched her face up in anger

"Screw you!" she spat out, turning and running back down the hill before anyone could stop her. "Screw all ya'll!" She yelled at the rest of them. Why did people say that? She showed up with bruises any time, the people always said she deserved them. Because she was A Dixon and she had to be put in her place. Well they don't know what their talking about!

-O-

"You're not doing this alone"

"Even I think that's a bad idea and I don't even like you very much" Daryl complained, swining his legs off the edge of the desk which he sat on

"It's a good idea, OK, if you just hear me out" Glenn begged "If we go out there in a group, we're slow, drawing attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast. Look" He pointed down at the lazily drawn map of the city he had drawn on the floor with a sharpie "That's the tank" he pushed his finger on a black key chain in the middle "And that's the bag of guns" he placed a piece of crumbled up paper in front of it "Here's the alley I dragged you into when we first met. That's where the Dixon's and I will go"

"Why us?" They said simultaneously, both sounding curious as to where they came in on this plan

"Your crossbows are a lot quieter than his gun" Glenn answered. They both nodded in understanding "While they wait here in the alley" he placed down a lighter to represent them "I run up the street, grab the bag.

"You got us elsewhere?" Rick asked

"You and T-dog, right" He placed a rubber a couple spaces away "You will be in this alley here"

"Two blocks away - why?"

"I may not be bale to come the same way" He sighed "Walkers might cut me off. If that happens, I won't go back to Daryl and Mary, I'll go forward instead -all they way around to that alley where you guys are. Whichever direction I go, I got you in both places to cover me. Afterwards, we'll all meet back here"

"Hey kid, what'd you do before all this?" Daryl asked. That was something Mary had been wondering aswell.

"Delivered Pizza's" Mary almost choked with laughter. It was so sterotypical and she loved it. Everyone stared at her with tired expressions

"What?" she chuckled "Alright fine" she said, said, taking deep breaths to try and calm her breathing.

After the plan was told again, everyone started getting into position. Daryl, Mary and Glenn went down the ladder that had saved Rick and Glenn's life only days ago while Rick and and T. made their way around the back of the buildings where no walkers had decided to roam

They quietly made their way forward and ducked behind a large dumpster. Mary and Daryl's crossbow made a familiar clicking sound as they pulled the wire up and loaded an arrow into it

"You got some balls for a Chinaman" Daryl admitted, looking at the walkers through the chain link fence

"Dude, he's Korean" Mary corrected him

"Thanks..." Glenn uttered, sort of happy that she could tell the difference

"Whatever" Daryl shrugged. The twins ducked down, bows at the ready as Glenn disappeared

"You think this is gonna work?" Mary asked, pushing her back up against the concrete wall

"Hell no"

"Mr. Positive as always" she breathed out

"Shut up"

"I don't shut up, I grow u-"

"Not the time"

"Yeah, you're right"

They waited a little bit until Daryl held his finger up to his mouth, hushing her. Like she already didn't know there was someone creeping up on them. It sounded like a someone anyway. Walkers don't sound that way when they walk. Daryl shot up and she stayed sitting, not giving away that he had backup

"Woah, don't shoot me! What do you want?" The kid yelled, sounding scared

"I'm looking for my brother. He's hurt bad. You seen him?" Daryl asked, keeping his bow raised

"AYUDAME!" The kid yelled in a language she didn't recognize

"Shut up" Daryl hissed "You'll bring the geeks. Answer me"

"AYUDAME!" He yelled again, causing Mary to start worrying. Why did he keep saying that? Who was he yelling to? Oh god, what if he wasn't alone?

Daryl smacked him over the face with his bow, sending the kid to the ground and effectively shutting him up "Shut up!" Daryl hissed, placing his hand over his mouth

"DARYL" He heard Mary yelled and turned to see one man making his way over and another grabbing his sister. The man at his sister managed to wrestle the crossbow from her (after she landed a couple punches on him) and smack her over the face with it like Daryl had done to the kid, sending her down

Daryl yelling in pain as the other man kicked him in his rib cage and didn't stop. He felt an ache all over his body and he could hear Mary in the same predicament

"THAT'S THE BAG!" One of the yelled as Glenn appaered in the Alley "GET IT!" The man at Mary landed a hard punch to her nose, causing her to go slack in his arms as the other one ran at Glenn and used his baseball bat to bring him down

"GET OFF!" Glenn struggled as the two of them were dragged towards a rusty car that had pulled up "DARYL!" He screamed for the Dixon to help him but it was too late. Mary and Glenn were roughly shoved into the car that sped off

"NO! NO! MARY!" Daryl screamed, not happy at loosing yet another sibling "COME BACK HERE YOU SUMBITCHES!" He yanked the gate closed so the geeks that had arrived couldn't get in and turned his attention to the kid who had caused all this. If Rick hadn't made an appearance when he did, he would of killed him

"THEY TOOK GLENN AND MARY! THAT LITTLE BASTARD AND HIS HOMIE FRIENDS!" He fought against Rick's Iron like grip, trying to get close to him so he could stomp his ass

"Rick we're cut off!" T. yelled back at them, holding onto the kid

"Daryl we gotta go!" Rick told the Dixon

"We can't leave them!" He sounded more defeated than angry right now... almost pathetic. He now had both his siblings missing and possibly in danger

"Daryl we will get them back I promise you but we have to go!" Rick hissed, picking up the bag those idiots so stupidly dropped when kidnapping their friends. Stupid for them, great for Rick

Daryl fought with this thought in his head. He wouldn't be able to save them if he was dead. He yelled out in defeat before running off. He was going to get his sister back and that Korean kid too... he had too

**YOOOOOOO I am so sorry**

**I swear last chapter I meant what I said when I said that I was gonna continue writing but SOMEBODY (not gonna name names) TOOK MY DVDS CAUSE THEY WANTED TO WATCH THE WALKING DEAD and you know, I was like "cool,cool just don't be too long" I had to go get them yesterday... They were on the season finale and I aint even feel guilty. They should of watched it quicker**

**Did you see that Stand By Me reference? It's honestly my favourite line from the whole thing "I don't shut up, I grow up and when I look at you, I throw up" ~Gagging noises~ **

**Now I have 7 more weeks of school so updating my still be kinda slow but it will still continue!**

**Follow/favourite if you wanna see more and PM/review to tell me what you liked/didn't like about this chapter or the story so far**

**~Daniel**


	4. Blood

Rick and Daryl walked forward, weapons raised at the bratty little kid in front of them. Daryl had managed to get a location out of him when he threw Merles hand at him and then threatened to take his feet off. He had only just started but the kid broke surprisingly easy. T. was hidden on a roof top nearby with a sniper rifle incase a trade couldn't be made as easily as they hoped. T. was pretty nervous about the whole thing though. He wasn't really in a sniping mood

The large metal door opened and a Mexican male strutted out, confidence oozing off him. This must be that Guillermo the kid was talking about. "You okay, little man?" Guillermo asked the kid, looking him up and down, searching for any visible wounds

"They're gonna cut off my feet!" The kid said with a voice filled with panic

G. looked around the kid and towards Rick, taking in his atire "Cop's do that?"

"Not him!" the kid corrected "This crazy redneck puto" he motioned to Daryl "He cut off some dude's hand. He showed me!"

"Shut up" Daryl told him, getting sick of hearing his whiney voice

"Hey!" they all looked at the door where a somewhat familiar face appeared weilding a gun that was pointed at Daryl "That's the vato right there. He shot me in the ass with an arrow!" Rick looked at Daryl with a confused look to which Daryl replied with a shrug as if saying '_what did you expect_?'

"Chill, Ese, chill" G. placed a hand on the mans arm, lowering it down. The man looked at with a look that said '_Why_?' and G. definitely picked up on it but chose to ignore it. He was the boss and what he says go and no one should question that "This true?" he asked, focusing back on the two men in front of him "He want's Miguelito's feet? That's pretty sick, man"

"We were hoping more for a calm discussion" Rick said, fixing his grip on the shotgun he was still pointing at the kid whose name turned out to be Miguel

"That hillbilly jumps Felipe's cousin, beats him, threatens to cut off his feet, Felipe gets an arrow in the ass, and you want a _calm_ discussion? You fascinate me"

"Heat of the moment" Rick replied "Mistakes were made... on both sides"

Daryl looked through the opening in the door, curiosity taking over "You got a dude called Merle in there?"

"Sorry, we're fresh out of hick white boys. I got hick white girl and Asian. Interested?" G. pondered

"I have one of yours, you have two of mine" Rick stated

"That doesn't sound very even" He scratched his chin, looking around "I want my bag of guns too"

"Guns?"

"The bag Miguel saw on the street. The bag Felipe and Jorge were going back to get - that bag of guns"

"You're mistaken" Rick informed him

"I don't think so" G. said with a shake of his head

"About it being yours" Rick explained "It's my bag of guns"

"Bag was in the street. Anybody could say it was theirs. I'm supposed to take your word for it? What's to stop my people unloading on you right now?" He was getting angry now "and I take what's mine?"

"You could do that..." Rick looked to his left and G. followed his gaze until he saw a man pointing what looked to be a sniper rifle at them. He sighed and looked back at Rick "... or not" Rick finished

"Oye!" G. called, leaning back. Rick and Daryl looked up and saw two men pushing another figure to the edge of the building. The one on the right pulled the bag off the figures head to revel a distressed Glenn with duct-tape over his mouth

"Where the hell is my sister?!" Daryl barked upon noticing how it was _just_ Glenn

"She's... a little busy at the moment" G. smirked and started up a new sentence before Daryl had the time to respond "Now I see two options - you come back with Miguel and my bag of guns, everybody walks, or you come back locked and loaded, we'll see which side spills more blood"

-O-

Glenn winced when the ropes were cut off his wrists and the duct-tape pulled off his face. The men tried to place a hand on his shoulder but he pulled away. He was still royally pissed that they had made him trick his friends into thinking he was in danger

He walked down the hall just a bit in front of those annoying dick-bags and into the common space where he was immediately greeted by Felipe's grandmother "Glenn!" she sounded scared "Your friend, she needs you" Not saying anymore and ignoring his questions, She grabbed his arm and pulled him along out of the Common space through a set of double doors on the left wall that led into the housing unit. Mary had been in the far end room, still passed out from when Felipe knocked her out but apparently she had woken up

Walking into her room, he had to pause so he could take in what was happening. Mary was sitting on the edge of the bed, her feet dangling with her hands on either side of her, digging into the mattress. Her head was leaning forward so her hair was covering her face and her chest was rising and falling at a speed that it shouldn't be

"What's wrong?" He asked the nurse who was kneeled in front of her

"She can't get her breath back" He informed him, keeping his attention on Mary

"In...ha...ler" she wheezed between breaths.

Glenn mentally cursed himself "It's in my bag... which they took -Crap!" He ran a hand through his greasy black hair and turned on the spot "Do you guys have any?" he asked the nurse

"Yeah but we aint allowed to give it to anyone except the residents. Do you think you can get your bag?"

"That guy.. Felipe refuses to give it back"

"Felipe?" Abuela asked "I'll go make him give it back" and with that, she disappeared out of the room and rushed out the main part of the nursing home

"Felipe! Felipe!" She called out, entering the warehouse where she knew the boys spent most of their time

"Abuela, go back with the others, now" Felipe ordered but she didn't listen and kept making her way through the crowd

"Get the old lady outta the line of fire!" A redneck she didn't recognize yelled

"Abuela, listen to your mijo, okay? this is not the place for you right now"

"Mary is having trouble breathing. The Asian boy said her asthma stuff is in his bag which _you_ took from him. Please Felipe, she needs her medicine"

"Mary?" Daryl blurted out, unable to help himself

"Yes. You know her?" Abuela asked, turning to look at him

Daryl nodded "I'm her brother" she gasped

"You must be Daryl. Glenn was talking about you" She walked forward and took his hand "Come, come I'll take you to her" she pulled Daryl along with her, moving through the crowd that parted for them. Felipe quickly followed, making sure to grab the Asian boys bag from the shelf

They were taken out into the back garden and down a brick path which eventually brought them to some brick stairs. They climbed up them and walked through a door that led into a beautiful white room that looked untouched. They walked down the hall, looking around to see a couple of Elderly people sitting on chairs and some doctor looking offices on their left hand side. She led them into a much larger room and there on the far end on some couches was Mary with Glenn beside her. Abuela assumed they moved her so she wasn't in that stuffy room anymore. She kept complaining about the lack of air conditioning. They kept saying tomorrow they would phone the repair man but he never came. Maybe she would call him by herself since they couldn't do it right

"MARY!" Daryl yelled, breaking away from the group to run over to his sister. He sat himself on the other side of her and placed a hand on her back to rub small circles like he had done countless times when they were kids. Sometimes Merle would have to go out and steal an Inhaler and he would need to sit with her to keep her calm until he got back

Felipe limped over to them as quick as he could and gritted his teeth when Daryl snatched the bag from him. The things he wanted to say to that asshole...

Daryl pulled out the inhaler and handed it to his sister who shoved it into her mouth and pushed down the button and after she did that immediately relaxed. Mary slinked down on the couch and leaned her head back, enjoying the feeling of being able to breath normally

She turned her head to look at her twin "What the hell took you guys so long?"

-O-

It was hard to concentrate on what Lori wanted her to do with Jim tied to a tree not one and half meters away from her. What made him say what he did? Heatstroke? If that's what heatstroke did to him she would hate to see any other kind of sickness... Why do people assume that about her though? Because she's a Dixon she must be trouble and she must deserve a few shoves to teach her a lesson. Why were people such dicks? 

"Cam, sweetie concentrate" Lori reminded her, tapping her shoulder

"But I'm already done" She muttered under her breath, crossing her arms on the table and slouching over. Lori raised a brow as if to say '_oh really_?' and Cameron nodded. Lori took her worksheet and compared it to her own that had the correct answers filled it and was a little bit shocked to see that Cam had gotten them all right without even using working

"You like math?" Lori asked her, placing the worksheets down

"Well I don't hate it" She replied with a shrug. Despite what people may think, Cam was actually pretty good at math. She didn't enjoy it so to say but she liked having something she was better at than others. She wasn't forced to go to school everyday and come away with nothing

"Hey!" All of them turned to face Jim who had called out to them "Sorry if I scared your boy and your little girl" he directed that more towards Lori and Carol. His eyes traveled over to Cammie who had already turned away "Sorry Cam..." He really did feel like an asshole because of what he said to her. No child deserves to be pushed around

"You had sunstroke. Nobodies blaming you" Lori told him, placing a hand on Cammie's upper arm

"You're not scared now are you?" He asked Sophia

Her eyes looked him up and down with disgust "No, sir" she said with a voice that could only be described as hateful. She didn't want to talk to him after the way he caused her friend to feel

Jim, picking up on Sophia's feelings toward him turned his focus to Carl "You mama's right. Sun just cooked my head is all"

"Jim" Dale said softly, stopping him from bothering the kids "Do you know why you were digging? can you say?"

"I had a reason" he sighed "I don't remember it" It felt weird, like when you are trying to think of a word thats on the tip of your tongue. You can describe the word, but you just can't get the name. He knew he remembered it so vividly when he woke up but after a second it was just gone "Something I dreamed last night" He furrowed his brows and looked back over to Carl "Your dad was in it. You were too. You were worried about him" He then turned to look at Cammie "You were there too... something happened and nobody got to you in time" Cammie wasn't sure whether to be afraid or angry at this statement so she was safely somewhere in between

"Okay Jim, I think that's enough" Shane warned him, picking up the metal bucket that was next to him "You kids wanna help me clean some fish?" Carl's eyes shot open at this and he was already jumping out of his seat before anyone could interject

"C'mon guys!" He called back to Cammie and Sophia who were somewhat less enthusiastic about cleaning fish but they got up none the same and followed their excited friend

"Stay with Carol, alright?" Lori told them before they left earshot. Once Carol had vanished up the hill with the rest, she stood up and made her way over to Jim, ready to tell him to never speak to the kids again but he stopped her by coming out with something she didn't expect

"You keep that girl close. You don't ever let her out of your sight. I see the way you look at her... That's a motherly look. So you treat her like your own and you protect her, alright? Keep. Her. Close"

Night falls quickly when you're ankle deep in chores. The kids decided that it would be fun to help out with the tasks to getting the dinner ready which involed collecting rocks to put around the fireplace, cleaning the pots and of course fixing the meal. Sophia had elected out of cleaning the fish but Cammie decided to give it a try. She had touched worse

The large group sat around the camp fire hidden by the rocks, enjoying the fish Andrea and Amy had caught earlier in the day. It felt nice... almost like home. It was like that last night of a camp out except when they woke up tomorrow, they wouldn't be going back to their houses with their family

"whew, I missed this" Shane commented, passing over some fish to Carl who sat next to him. He wasn't the only one. It had been a while since all of them had just sat together and eaten

"I gotta ask you man..." Morlaes said to Dale "It's been driving me crazy"

"What?" Dale asked, scratching his beard

"That watch" Morales pointed to the object in question

"What's wrong with my watch?" Dale smiled, rubbing his hand over it

"I see you every day, same time, winding that thing, like a village priest saying mass" The group chuckled between themselves and some even nodded in agreement. It was certainly a hot topic in their group

"I've wondered this myself" Jaqui added, spooning more fish in her mouth

"I'm missing the point" Dale puzzled, unsure at what they were all getting at

"Unless I've misread the signs, the worls seems to have come to an end" Jaqui said as-matter-of-factly "atleast hit a speed bump for a long while"

"But there's you every day" Morales laughed "winding that stupid watch"

"Time, it's important to keep track, isn't it?" Dale defended himself "The days, atleast. Don't you think, Andrea? Back me up here" Andrea shrugged and took another drink of beer. Dale sniffed and leaned back "I like, I like what... um, a father said to a son, when he gave him a watch that'd been handed down through generations. He said '_I give you this mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs not better than it did mine and my fathers before me. I give it to you, not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it, for a moment now and then, and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it_"

A silence fell over the group as they took in Dales speech, a silence that was broken by Amy who said "You are so weird" in a joking manner which caused the group to go into a fit of giggles

"It's not me, it's Faulkner, William Faulkner. Might be my bad paraphrasing"

Cammie cleared her throat, sat her plate down and stood up "Honey, where are you going?" Lori asked, sitting herself up straight

"I gotta pee" Cammie reassured her "Sorry for not wanting to share with the class" Yet another fit of giggles spwet over everyone as Cammie jogged away. She was glad they had an RV since if they didn't they would probably have to do their business in the bushes and no one wants that. She opened the bathroom door and huffed when she saw there was no toilet paper. She headed back out and rested her arm on the open door "Hey!" she didn't think anyone heard her "Guys!" We're out o- AH!" She screamed as a walker grabbed her wrist. She yanked her arm back and took a step away, causing her to trip and pull the walker who had refused to let go of her arm with her. She screamed louder when she realised the only thing stopping it form taking a bite out of her neck was her tiny hands pushing against its chest "LORI!"

Jim heard her screams before anyone and was already running over, bat in hand before the rest had noticed "CAM!" He heard Lori yell behind him. He told her! He told her to watch Cammie! Why wouldn't she listen? Jim swung the bat at the walkers head, smashing it against the side of the RV. He reached down and pulled up a shaken Cammie "Get in the RV" He told her, turning and swinging at the next walker to appear

She bolted into the RV and straight for the bathroom, throwing herself on the floor she gripped the sides of the toilet bowl and leaned over as she threw up until she felt there was nothing left in her stomach and the back of her throat burned. She wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet, then leaned back against the wall with one leg outstretched and the other pushed against her chest

"Hey" she looked up to see Lori crouching down beside her "you alright?" Cammie shook her head, tears threatening to escape

"blood from it's mouth dropped into mine..."

"What? are you sure?" Cammie nodded

"I can still taste it... am I infected?" Lori honestly didn't know how to answer that. She knew that a bite meant you were. Something about saliva containing the virus. Was this the same? They were all learning as they went along so only time would tell

"CAMMIE!" They both looked up as the sounds of her aunt and uncle screaming filled the air

"Stay here, okay?" Lori told her, standing up and heading out to greet the Dixon's

"Andrea said she got attacked by a walker, she alright? she bit?" Daryl rushed, trying to get a look into the RV since Lori was blocking the door

"No... but uh... A walker bled in her mouth"

"That it?" Daryl asked

"Well yeah.. bu-"

"Then I don't see a problem" He hissed, pushing past her.

Lori looked at the other Dixon, unsure what to do "We don't know if that could infect someone, Mary"

"She's fine" The other Dixon said confidently. She had to hope that Cammie would be okay, after all, if Merle found out they left her alone and the end result was that she got infected... he would kill them. That was if they didn't kill themselves first. Cam's blood would be on their hands and neither of them would be able to handle that. Dixon or not

**What? Amy's alive? Why?**

**I have plans for her but they're secret so hushity hush**

**Follow/favourite if you want to see more and like/review to tell me what you liked/didn't like about this chapter or the story so far!**

**~Daniel**


	5. I'm Okay

After a very brief meeting, it was decided that Cammie was to be left alone in the RV for a while to see if she would start showing any sign of infection. Of course the two Dixons hated this idea and cursed a lot at everyone but inevitably followed the orders. When the sun rose and Cammie was still fine –Pissed off, but fine, she was allowed out and the clean-up continued.

"How are you feeling?" Dale asked the young Dixon girl as she left the RV. He put his out to touch his shoulder but she pushed it away and narrowed his eyes at him, giving him an annoyed face.

"Don't touch me" she spat, stomping away, angrily.

"What did you expect?" Daryl asked rhetorically, slamming his pickaxe into the head of another fallen survivor.

Cammie stormed past the rest of the group and into her tent where she threw herself on the camp out bed and closed her eyes. The RV was probably the worst place you could stay for a full night. In fact, anywhere could probably become a living hell if you weren't allowed to leave because everyone thought you were going to turn into a crazy monster.

"Hey" Hearing her aunt's voice, she sat herself up and glared at her. Mary had made no attempt to come back for her last night and instead helped the rest of the group.

"What?" she bit, keeping her face as hard as stone.

"I get that you're angry-"

"Angry don't even begin to cover it!" She yelled, swinging her legs over the side "You left me in there! Treated me as if I was already a god damned walker!"

"Look, I hated it just as much as you—"When she saw Cammie was going to interrupt her again, she raised her voice "But we had to be sure!"

"Had to be sure?" she scoffed, her voice breaking. _Unbelievable_ she thought. Rubbing her forehead, she turned away from Mary "You left me" she repeated quietly

Yelling outside pulled Mary away from Cammie unfortunately. The girls abandonment issues would have to be dealt with later. Mary jogged out of the tent and towards the commotion to see what's going on "What happened?" she asked Morales who was standing on the outside

"Jim's bit" Shocked, Mary made her way towards the man who was currently holding a shovel up to protect himself from the men who were trying to get close to him

"Jim" she said softly, holding one hand up to show she was unarmed and meant to harm and using the other to shoo away Daryl, Rick and T. "I ain't gonna hurt you" she assured him, inching closer

"I'm okay" He said, only a little bit above a whisper "I'm okay" it was as if the more he said it, the more he believed it, the more it might come true

"And I don't doubt that, but I need you to show me your stomach, m'kay?" Jim, with glazed eyes, dropped the shovel and yanked up his T-shirt, revealing a walker sized bit just below his ribs

"I'm okay" he mouthed again "Im okay. I'm okay. I'm okay" urging the the words to come true

A little while later, another meeting had to take place. One involving what to do with Jim. The most part of the group wanted to end Jim's life courtesy of Shane and Daryl talking about how he would come back and eat the children to which Mary had responded very sarcastically "_Real Classy, guys_". The small part who didn't want to kill him had Rick speaking for them mostly. He talked about the CDC and how they would have a cure, they would be safe. The military would protect the CDC at all costs

"What do you think they're talking about?" Sophia asked Cameron and Carl who were sitting on opposite sides of her. The three of them had been sitting on the outside, trying to listen in on the decision with Jim

"I don't care" Cameron mumbled, kicking the sand at her feet

"You can't stay mad forever" Carl stated, leaning forward so he could see her

Cameron was about to retort something very, very un-lady like but was distracted when a lot of yelling forced her to look up to see what was going on. Daryl was holding a pickaxe over Jim while Rick was holding a gun to Daryl's head. Annoyed at all the drama, Cameron picked up a small rock— A pebble almost, and threw it at Daryl's head

"You don't kill the living, idiot!" she said, repeating something she heard someone say earlier. Daryl stared at her, extremely annoyed. Between Rick and Shane holding weapons up to him and Cameron _actually using_ one on him, he felt defeated

"Fine! Y'all go looking for aspirin then, see where that gets you!" And then, throwing the pickaxe down, he stormed away

"Drama queen" Cameron muttered under her breath, going back to kicking the sand

**-O-**

Amy had been keeping away from all the chaos and drama. Frankly, she didn't want anything to do with it. Whatever gets decided, gets decided. Nothing she can change about that. Plus, it was probably the best decision. Rick, Shane and apparently Daryl too seemed to be the one calling the shots and they were doing what they felt best for the group and that was good enough for Amy

Though, there was one thing eating away at her mind "I think I should apologize to Cammie" she stated loudly and awaited for her sisters response who was sitting beside her, fiddling with Dad's gun

"Why?" Andrea asked, not even looking up

"Because it should have been me" Those few words out Amy's mouth were enough to make the gun fall from Andrea's lap. Thank god the safety was on otherwise it probably would of shot someone

"Excuse me?"

"I was about to get up and pee, but Cameron beat me to it… Maybe if I had decided to go before she did, then she wouldn't of been locked up in that RV all night" Her and her stupid social anxieties.

"Oh please" Andrea scoffed "Being locked in Dale's RV isn't the worst thing that could of happened to that kid" Amy wasn't so sure about that. During her trips around the camp last night while she was helping gather most of the bodies made her pass the RV a lot and she was sure she heard her sobbing inside. Then when she left and how she wouldn't even let Dale touch her, how she spat at him. It made Amy think that it might have been the worst thing for Cammie to be left alone

Amy stood up "I'm gonna apologize"

"Amy, seriously? She's a kid, she'll get over it" Her older sister told her, picking her gun back up. Amy ignored Andrea and made her way over to Cameron who was currently sitting with the other kids and Morales wife who was watching them

"Cam" Amy said, kneeling down in front of the girl who still had tear tracks that carved through some of the dirt build up on her face. Cam looked over, squinting to see through the Georgia sun "I wanted to say sorry"

"For what?" Amy explained everything to Cam. About her anxieties, how they stopped her from getting up to pee, how she waited to see if anyone else would get up so she would feel less nervous about it "So… I'm sorry"

Cameron nodded and looked down "You're right" she said plainly, pushing herself up on the group and wiping her hands on her jeans "It should have been you" She clarified "It should have been you to get grabbed by a goddamn walker and it should of ripped your FREAKING THROAT OUT!" She yelled in Amy's face who had since straightened herself back up "I hate you" Cameron spat "You and your fucking insecurities that got me locked in that STUPID… _FUCKING_ RV" Cameron's eyes were glazing over and new tears threatened to spill "It's all your damn fault" she choked out, looking down at the ground and wiping her face with her sleeve

Amy reached her arms out, aware of the staring face "Cameron I— "

"Don't touch me!" She almost screamed, swatting Amy away

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Daryl directed towards Amy, making his way over. Amy stuttered for words, unsure of how to defend herself. Thankfully Andrea came over to the rescue. But instead of starting a screaming match with Daryl, she just put her hands on her younger sister and calmly told the Dixon to "Keep his family under control"

Daryl pulled a shaking Cameron towards him and placed his arm around her "What the hell happened?"

"Nothing" she muttered, sniffing

"If she said anything to you I swear I'll –" Daryl started but never got to finish

"I said, it's nothing" Cameron had already screamed her throat raw and she didn't feel like having to explain herself. She didn't want this to be a bigger thing than it already was. Just wanted the past to be the past. Letting go of grudges was hard and Amy's little confession didn't help any

"Alright well… we're moving out" Cameron looked up at Daryl confused "Mary's packing up the truck now"

"What do you mean?"

"Dumb and Dumber decided that we're gonna make out way to the CDC… unless you wanna stay here?"

Taking in a shaky breath, Cameron giggled "No… that's cool" but then she narrowed her eyes as a new thought entered her mind "What about dad? What if he comes back and we're not here?"

Daryl wasn't sure how to answer this question since he hadn't really thought about it. Merle sure would be pissed if he came back and everyone was gone without so much as a note goodbye or something to tell 'em where they were headed

"Can we leave him like a message or something?" Daryl nodded

"'Course we can" Cameron smiled at that

"I'll go get ready"

**WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO **

**I'm sorry I get excited with new chapters**

**But yes, Children Of The Wild Ones is not one of the unlucky ones to be on Hiatus so praise THE FANFIC RULER! Or me ya know cause I'm the one that decided not them**

**Cammie has abandonment issues? Yes, yes she does. And she has a good reason to**

**Follow/Favourite if you want to see more and PM/Review to tell me what you liked/didn't like about this chapter or the story so far**

**~Danny boy OH DANNY B— okay I'll stop**


	6. Zone Five

When everyone was ready, Shane explained what was happening thoroughly and thankfully everyone understood. Morales and his family had decided to leave to go be with their own people which everyone understood but Rick still gave them a walkie-talkie in case they changed their minds. Then, the now smaller Atlanta group headed out, leaving two messages behind. One for the man that saved Rick's life that was stuck to the car Glenn took and another taped next to it addressed to a lost father.

Cameron was in her dad's truck, sitting between her aunt and uncle. Normally, she would be sitting in the bed of the truck but there was a motorcycle strapped down in there so she couldn't. She enjoyed sitting against the back windshield with her arms outstretched above her head and the wind in her face. It was relaxing, almost.

"Jim isn't doing okay, is he?" Cammie asked out loud. She had learned Jim was bit from Carl who overheard his parents talking about it. In truth, Cammie didn't know how she felt about Jim. He had yelled that she deserved uncalled for abuse, claiming that she had probably done something to deserve it. But then he said sorry, claimed it was just heatstroke. Then he was going on about how she needed to be careful the morning before she was attacked by that damn walker. She just didn't know what to think. She wanted to like him –she did. She just… didn't know how.

"No –no he isn't." Mary replied, taking her head of the passenger side window and sitting up straight. As soon as she had seen the bite on Jim's body she knew it was over for the man. He wouldn't make it to the CDC to even get the cure that they may or may not have. She didn't even know if he_ wanted_ the cure. Jim came into the group after the Dixon's and he didn't talk for a couple of days. It was Mary that managed to break him out of his shell. She sat with him on the edge of camp while he cried about his family. It was terrible. He told her how the only reason he was even alive was because the dead were too busy eating his wife and children… It was a wonder how he even managed to wake up every day with the strength to carry on.

"Do you think Dad will find the message?" She asked another question. She had written on a piece of paper:

DAD, GO TO CDC. WE'LL BE WAITING! -CAMMIE

Hopefully, he'll actually stay to look around when he returns to the camp and not just leave straight away as soon as he sees they're gone.

"He better." Daryl mumbled, one hand on the steering wheel and the other propping his head up. It was true, not having Merle around felt freeing. Not having someone constantly breathing down your back was nice, but that was his brother. You don't leave family behind.

The three then fell back into a silence and stayed that way until they had to stop due to the RV's hose failing for the hundredth time. Not wanting to stay in the stuffy truck, Cammie climbed out and decided to sit with Carl and Sophie on the grass.

Shane and T. walked ahead to see if they could find a gas station but came back empty handed and slightly annoyed. By now, the hose was more duct tape than anything and they had no replacement… well they did, but Merle took it.

"Why don't we use the one in Merle's truck?" Mary wondered, looking between Dale and Glenn who were at the hood of the RV.

"Where the hell would we go?" Daryl retaliated. If they didn't have the truck, there was no way for them to travel.

"You and Cam can take the bike and I'll sit in the RV. There's room right?" she asked Dale, making sure.

"Uh… yeah." He replied, nodding his head. "There is."

"Then it's settled then." Mary smiled, walking over to her older brother's truck and yanking open the hood. "Let's get this bad boy out."

**-O-**

The RV was now fixed and Merles old, ratty truck was deemed useless but they still had one problem: Jim. Jacqui had come out of the RV and told everyone how much worse he was getting. Rick had went in, talked to him, then came out and told every one of his wishes. Jim was propped up against a tree, letting the breeze wash over him. It was time for everyone to say their final goodbyes.

Some kissed his cheek, some shook his hand and some just nodded at him before turning away. But not Cammie. Carl and Sophia didn't even go near him, they just stood back and gave a sort of wave. Cammie walked right up to him, kneeled down and took off a blue and brown armband that she made a while back and put it on his own wrist.

"For good luck." she whispered, standing back up

"I'm afraid… my luck's already run out." he coughed out, looking down at the armband that was now around his own wrist

"It's for when you find your family" she said quietly, her eyes looking at the ground "I wanted to give you extra luck so you could find them better." Jim was shocked of course that she knew about his family, but he was also touched. She associated these armbands with good luck and for her to give him one of her last was an extremely kind gesture on her behalf. "Bye Jim." she said before turning and walking away towards Daryl who was waiting for her to climb on the bike.

**-O-**

The CDC was not what they expected it to be at all. The dead soldiers littered around were supposed to be alive and guarding the giant building which also seemed dead. The place stank of rotten flesh when it should have stank of gun powder and fuel. Maybe it still did, but the smell of flesh was so strong it probably hid any other smells.

"What happened here?" Cammie asked Daryl but never got a reply.

The closer they got to the building, the stronger the smell got and the more flies they met and had to swat away. Most of them were covering their mouths and noses with the front of their shirts. Cammie felt bad for the ones that couldn't because they were holding weapons.

"There's no one here." T-dog said after Rick banged on the closed shutters a couple of times with no answer

"Then why are the shutters down?" Rick responded, looking back at him

"WALKERS!" As soon as Daryl yelled it, Cammie was being pulled back by Lori by some sort of protective instinct the women had over her. Lori kept a hand wrapped around her and her other one free so she could continue holding the handgun she was given.

Daryl, Rick and Shane were now all arguing why also trying to defend the group from the walkers that were approaching. Guess some of the bodies weren't actually fully dead. Cammie was still being held by Lori which she didn't even protest against. Carl and Sophia were behind her, being held by Carol. It did feel kind of weird that Lori was protecting her more than her son but she didn't question it.

"We can't be this close to the city after dark!" Lori argued with Rick who was still saying that they had to stay.

"Fort Benning. Still an option." Shane informed them, breathless.

"On what?" Andrea asked. "No food, no fuel. It's 100 miles"

"125" Glenn corrected.

"Forget Fort Benning!" Lori yelled again "We need answers tonight, now!"

"Let's get out of here!" Someone yelled and like that, Rick had been overruled and everyone was moving in the opposite direction. Cammie wanted one last look at what could have been and she was pretty thankful she was since she spotted something and stopped dead, pulling free of Lori's grasp.

"It moved." she said, looking at the security camera. "The camera moved!" She said a bit louder, getting Rick's attention.

"What? You're sure?" He asked her, stepping beside her and looking at said camera

"Yeah." she nodded

"She just imagined it!" Said Dale, wanting to get out of here quickly

"No I didn't!" She defended herself

"I believe her." Rick told the group, taking the young girls side. Maybe because he wouldn't let go of the idea that this place was still safe when it couldn't be.

"Rick, its dead, man. She's tired, her eyes are playing tricks on her. Now we gotta go." Shane told his friend who had rooted himself to the spot and refused to move. Rick then moved forward and started slamming the shutters.

"RICK THERES NOBODY HERE!" Lori screamed at him

"I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! Please… we're _desperate._" he told the camera while Shane was pulling him away. "We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left!" By now, Lori had run forward as well and tried to get him away. "We have nowhere else to go! If you don't let us in, you're killing us!" Rick still wasn't losing hope but Shane had managed to pull him away, screaming and all.

Just as they were about to run for it, escape the walkers while they could. The shutter's opened and the group were blinded by a bright, white light.

The group walked in very carefully with their weapons raised. The Dixon twins were covering the back to make sure no walkers got in as well and Rick, Shane and T. along with Andrea were covering the front in case anyone tried to jump out at them. Amy wanted to help as well but Andrea still hadn't taught her how to shoot like promised.

A gun clicking for in front of them had every ones guard come up. A man came out from the shadows, gun raised like everyone else. As far as it seemed, he was alone.

"Anybody infected?" The man called out, not coming any closer.

"One of our group was." Rick told him. "He didn't make it."

"Why are you here and what to do you want?" he asked.

"A chance." Rick said simply.

"That's asking an awful lot these days." The man said.

"I know." Rick agreed.

The man look at each group member, thinking things over in his head. Then finally, he said: "You all submit to a blood test. That's the price."

"We can do that." Rick agreed, not knowing the fear one of children (specifically Cammie) had of needles.

The man lowered his weapon "You got stuff to bring in, do it now. Once the door closes, it stays closed."

-O-

"Vi, seal the main entrance, kill the power up here." The man spoke out loud once everyone had collected their things and made their way into the biggest elevator Cammie had ever seen. Seriously, it was huge.

"Doctors always go 'round packing heat like that?" Daryl asked the man who introduced himself as Edwin Jenner.

"Well, there were plenty left lying around. I familiarised myself." Jenner responded, smiling. "But you look harmless enough" His eyes then travelled down to Carl. "Except you. I'll have to keep my eye on you." Then, his eyes caught Cammie's whom he noticed to be trembling and a bit sweaty. "Are you alright?" He asked her, genuinely concerned.

"She doesn't like needles, much." Mary informed him

"Oh…" he looked back down at Cammie. "I promise it'll only hurt for a second."

"Whatever you say, Doc." she replied, trying to calm down her nerves

"Vi, bring up the lights in the big room!" Jenner called out once they reached the big room which had a raised, circular platform in the middle filled with computers. He turned to look at all the new guests and smiled. "Welcome to Zone Five."

"Where is everybody? The other doctors? The staff?" Rick asked, walking in line behind Jenner.

"I'm it." Jenner told them, stopping dead centre in the circle. "It's just me here."

"Doesn't that get lonely?" Mary asked, dragging her hand along the railing

"Sometimes, yes."

"What about the person you were speaking with?" Lori asked, looking around as if she would appear out of thin air. "Vi?"

Jenner smiled and looked up. "Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them… welcome."

A female computer voice answered, echoing throughout the room. "_**Hello, guests. Welcome.**_"

"I'm all that's left." Jenner repeated again. "I'm sorry." he apologized, knowing the expected more.

**-O-**

Cameron had decided to go first to get her blood taken so as to just get it over with which turned out to be easier said than done. She shook so much Jenner couldn't even risk sticking the needle in. Daryl had to hold her arm steady while Mary held her other hand. It was over quickly but she was still scared witless of needles.

After learning that they hadn't eaten in days, Jenner decided they should all have a big feast and fill themselves up and even get a little drunk. Cameron was sat next to Mary and and Carl was directly opposite her, drinking some of the juice that Jenner had. She was just drinking water.

"You know—" Dale started, pouring more wine into Lori's glass. "—In Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France" Lori just laughed, already pretty drunk.

"Yeah well when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some." she said, looking at her son.

"What's it gonna hurt?" Rick argued. Lori looked at him, a little bit shocked, mostly amused. "Come on." He coaxed. With a laugh that almost made her spill her drink, Lori finally caved and Dale handed Carl a glass of wine. Cautiously, he tipped the glass and watched the liquid run down until it was in his mouth and then almost spat it out once he tasted it.

"Eewww!" he exclaimed, sticking his tongue out and shaking his head in disgust. The rest of the group laughed at this

"That's my boy." Lori said, rubbing Carl's back

"Hey Cammie do you want some?" Dale asked her when the laughter died down a bit.

"No thanks." she denied his offer politely

"Oh, come on. Just a sip." he was already outstretching his hand, offering her the glass

"I said no." she told him again, firmer this time. She didn't want to drink. She had been put off it forever after seeing what it can do to the best of people.

"Oh, alright then." Dale smiled. "More for the rest of us." Cammie nodded and took another drink of her water and looked around the table, eyeing everyone.

"You should stick to soda pop, bud." Shane told Carl who was still trying to get the taste of wine out of his mouth.

"Not You, Glenn." Everyone looked over to Daryl to see what he meant. Glenn was holding a bottle of the wine, examining it. "Keep drinking, little man. I wanna see how red your face can get!" Daryl joked

Rick then stood up and tapped his glass, calming everyone down. "It seems we haven't thanked our host yet."

"He is more than just our host!" T. commented, lifting his glass in the air

"Hear, hear!" Everyone started saying, lifting their glasses up as well. Except Daryl who lifted a bottle and yelled 'Booya!'

"So—" Shane started, leaning back in his chair. "—When are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, Doc?" it was clear he must have been wanting to ask that question for a while now. Shame he had to ask it when everyone was having a good time. "All the –uh, all the other doctors figuring out what happened. Where are they?"

"C'mon, Shane. We're celebrating. Not now" Rick told his friend, taking a seat once again.

"Woah, wait a second. That's why we're here, right? This was your move, to find all the answers. Instead… we found him" he scoffed, gesturing to Jenner. "Found one man. Why?"

"Well when things go bad, a lot of people just… left." Jenner began his answer, taking in a breath. "Went off to be with their families. And when things got worse –when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?" Shane asked.

"No. Many couldn't face walking out the door" Jenner replied with an emotion Cammie couldn't pick up on. "They… opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."

"You didn't leave…" Andrea pointed out. "Why?"

"I just kept working." he shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal. "Hoping… to do something good."

Glenn took a seat back at the table and sighed. "Dude, you are such a buzz-kill." he said to Shane who had pretty much ruined the night.

-O-

"Most of the facility is powered down, including housing. Make do here." Jenner led the group through the hallways of the living areas where people would come for their breaks and just hang out. "The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's also a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy." he turned and looked down at Cammie, Sophia and Carl who were walking in front of everyone else. "Just don't' plug in the video games… or anything that draws power, really." the three nodded and he smiled. "Same applies to you adults. If you shower, go easy on the hot water." And with that, he walked away to go do who knows what, who knows where.

"Hot water?" Glenn repeated, turning to look at the rest of the group, a big grin spreading on his face.

"That's what the man said." laughed, excitement building.

There were two separate bathrooms. One for boys and one for girls. Inside there was a couple of toilet stalls and a couple of shower stalls. Because there wasn't enough for each person to shower at the same time, they took turns. They didn't wait of course, that would be weird. If you weren't showering, you were helping set everything up: getting the cots out, putting away clothes, etc.

Cammie loved showering. It felt amazing. Having warm water –warm! Not freezing cold quarry water— run down her back and wash away all the dirt and blood, leaving her skin clean. She could hear Mary laughing in the stall next to her. She couldn't blame her. It was great. She looked down at the shower floor and watched all the dirt and blood go down the drain until only clear water remained and smiled. She was clean. She was actually clean. She examined her whole body to make sure. She could see every bruise, every cut and every scar. Normally, she would hate that. But it was a much better site than the muck and grime.

Now, Cammie was sitting in the rec room with Carl, Sophia and Carol. They couldn't play the video games but they still had some books and board games which were okay. Cammie liked reading. While Carl and Sophia were playing Chess, Cammie had found a book titled '_The Maze Runner_'. There was another book as well, she noticed, with the same name which meant it had a sequel. She never found a third which annoyed her. She checked the books again and was very disappointed when she learned the second one was made this year, meaning the third one would never see the light of day. She would be reading something knowing she would never know the ending. She hated it, but kept reading. She could make up her own ending.

Carol eventually took them off to go to bed but Cameron decided she had to quickly go say goodnight to her aunt and uncle. She found Daryl easily. He was almost passed out on the couch in the first room she checked. The room she was going to be sleeping in. Then she went in search of Mary. Mary was a bit harder to find since no one had seen her. She was walking by what she assumed to be a closet of some sort when she heard some noises coming from inside it. So obviously, she opened it. But shut it again very quickly. That was not something she was supposed to see. She was definitely not supposed to see her aunt kissing Amy in a weirdly big supply closest. Nope. Better forget she ever saw that. Quickly, she walked back to the room where Daryl was now asleep, threw herself down on the cot and pulled the cover up. She was not supposed to see that. Sure, her and Amy had always been really close and were constantly chatting at the feast but… holy crap.

She fell asleep sometime after who she assumed to be Mary came into the room. Mary hovered a bit at the door and Cammie could feel her eyes on her. Mary then carefully made her way to the other couch and plopped herself down and fell asleep. Then it was Cammie's turn.

**-O-**

Breakfast time, Cammie avoided Amy and Mary's gaze. She was not bringing it up. She did not want to discuss. What they did was their business and she would rather not know. Then, on her way to the big room where everyone else was headed, she found herself pinned against a wall by Mary.

"What did you see?" she asked, staring right into her eyes. Cammie legit felt like Mary was staring into her soul.

"Nothing!" she said quickly, turning her head to the side.

"Don't lie to me, Cam." Mary's voice was threatening.

"Okay, okay!" She caved pretty quickly. "You and Amy were… y'know?" Mary backed up a bit and sighed.

"You can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Okay" Cammie nodded. She tilted her head slightly and found herself smiling despite everything. "How long have you guys… y'know?"

Mary looked left and right, making sure no one was coming. "Since the Quarry" Cam almost squealed in excitement. Now she knew Mary wasn't going to rip her head off, she could actually let herself be happy about this.

"So you guys are… Y'know?"

"Yes, Cam" Mary smiled. "We're… _Y'know_"

Together, the two walked into the big room and were greeted with friendly smiles. At the breakfast table, Andrea had informed Jenner that they weren't here for the eggs so Jenner had taken them all into the big room. Of course, Cam and Mary were a bit late.

"No, no. You guys are just on time" Dale greeted them as they walked in. Cam took her place by Carl and of course, Mary went to stand next to Amy and Andrea. Cam looked back, flashed a smile at Amy, and then looked back to Jenner.

"Give me a playback of TS19." Jenner said to Vi.

"_**Playback of TS19.**_" Replied Vi, repeating Jenner's words.

The giant screen at the front of the room (or the back?) turned on and showed a few things. There was a giant head in the middle and at the side there were different views on the head, mostly focusing on the brain.

"Take us in for EIV."

"_**Enhanced Internal View.**_" Vi repeated.

The screen zoomed in on the head and turned to a different angle so it looked as if the person the head belonged to was lying down and then zoomed in some more into the actually brain itself.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked, marvelling at it.

"It's a person's life. Experiences, memories –it's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring –all those ripples of light, is you. The thing that makes you unique and human."

"You don't make sense ever?" Daryl asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Those are synapses —electric impulses in the brain that carry the messages. They determine everything a person says, does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death?" Rick asked, walking forward. "That's what this is? A vigil?"

"Yes." Jenner confirmed.

"What's a vigil?" Asked Cammie, looking between the two men.

"It means watching" Jenner told her. She mouthed 'Oh' and nodded her, adding a new word to her dictionary.

"This person died?" Andrea asked, walking forward as well to look at the screen closer. "Who?"

"Test Subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected. They volunteered to have us… record the process. Vi, scan forward to the first event."

"_**Scanning to first event.**_" Vi announced and then the playback sped up and zoomed out so you could see the head and the brain which was glowing different blues and greens. But there was a black, tree like thing moving up and taking over all the colours.

"What is that?" Glenn asked, pointing at it.

"It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands haemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs." Now the brain was completely black, colourless, and lifeless. "Then death. Everything you ever were or ever will be… gone."

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked Carol

"Yes." Carol replied, nodding her head

"Jim was the man I told you was infected, remember?" Rick asked Jenner

"Yes… you said he didn't make it? Was Jim a good man?" Someone in the group nodded and another mumbled a 'yes' "I know what it's like to lose a good person… it's devastating" Suddenly realising he might of said to much, Jenner turned back to the screen. "Scan to the second event."

"_**Scanning to second event.**_"

"The resurrection times vary wildly" he started, crossing his arms over his chest. "We have reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient; two hours, one minute… seven seconds." Suddenly, the black brain began flashing red from the brain stem.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked, placing her hands on her hips and squinting her eyes to see if she can see right

"No, just the brain stem." Jenner corrected her. "Basically, it gets them up and moving."

"But they're not alive." Rick added

"You tell me."

"It's nothing like before." Rick commented. "Most of that brain is dark."

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobes –the human part, that doesn't come back. The 'you' part. Just a shell, driven by mindless instinct." Something appeared in the right hand corner of the screen, then a flash went through the brain, tearing through it. Then, the person stopped moving.

"God! What was that?" Carol exclaimed, a bit shocked by the suddenness

"He shot his patient in the head." Andrea informed her. "Didn't you?" she looked at Jenner for confirmation.

"Vi, power down the main screen and the work stations."

"_**Powering down main screen and work stations.**_"

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asked, voice shaking.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal."

"So basically it could be anything." Mary scoffed.

"Maybe it's the wrath of god?" Jacqui stated

"There is that." Jenner said

"Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere." Andrea stated

"There are others, right? Other facilities?" Carol asked

"There may be some… people like me." Jenner said, shrugging.

"But you don't know? How can you not know?" Rick asked, confused.

"Everything went down." Jenner told him. "Communications, directives, all of it. I've bene in the dark almost a month."

"So it's not just here?" Andrea asked, knowing the answer

"You mean there's nothing left anywhere? Nothing?" Amy addressed, panicking. "That's what you're saying, aren't you? That there's nothing?!" Jenner didn't answer

"Jesus…" Jacqui mumbled

"Man, I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk again." Daryl commented, dragging his hands down his face.

"I'll join you." Said Mary.

"Dr Jenner, I know this had been taxing and I hate to ask one more question." Dale started, walking over. "That clock." He pointed to the digital clock on the left side wall. "It's counting down. What happens at zero?"

"Uh… the basement generators." Jenner ruffled his blonde hair. "They run out of fuel." He then turned to talk away but was stopped by Rick.

"And then?" Jenner kept walking towards the door so Rick asked someone else. "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?"

"_**When power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur.**_"

No one understood what that meant but it didn't sound good so a group of four or so men went down to the basement to see if there were any fuel drums left while the rest stayed in the big room, wondering what the hell was happening. Cammie was sitting on the floor, her back against one of the desks and Sophia next to her.

"What do you think's gonna happen?" She asked Sophia, turning to look at the girl who was clutching the doll Morales daughter gave her.

"I don't know… but it doesn't sound good." Sophia responded.

"No it doesn't." Cammie agreed.

The lights flickered and turned off but came back on a second later and Vi's voice followed, saying. "_**Emergency lightening on.**_" which wasn't exactly a good thing considering. Mary decided it was best to get out of the good room and go back to the rec room, get their minds of things, so that's what they did. But then the lightening went off and the air conditioning stopped which meant that there was no new air being filtered in which was very, very bad.

"Zone Five is shutting itself down." Jenner said when everyone asked him what was going on at the same time. "Everything is being prioritized." he said. Apparently air isn't a priority. The whole thing works to keep the computer running till the very last second.

"How can a building do anything?" Daryl asked, annoyed that Jenner wouldn't stop walking to talk to him or anyone for a second.

"You'd be surprised." Jenner deadpanned.

"It's designed to start as soon as we reach the half hour mark." he looked at the clock. "Right on schedule." He turned back to face everyone and sighed. "It was the French." He told them before walking up the steps to the platform. "They were the last to hold out as far as I know. A lot of people were bolting out the door while our people committed suicide. They stayed in the labs to the end. They thought they were close to a solution."

"And were they?" Mary asked.

Jenner shrugged. "We'll never know. Sam thing that's happening here happened there. No power grid. Ran out of juice."

"What does that have to do with it?" She asked again but Jenner continued.

"The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?" Jenner walked towards one of the computers, away from the group. Rick had to grab Shane to stop him attacking the man.

"Lori, grab our things. Everybody. We're getting out of here now!" as everyone was running to go out the door to collect their things, an alarm started blaring loudly.

"What's that?!" Shane yelled, panicking.

"_**30 minutes to decontamination.**_" Vi said as the clock came up on the big screen.

Before anyone could get to the door, they slammed shut. "Did he just lock us in?!" Glenn asked, yelling. "He just locked us in!" everyone ran back to the centre of the room, un-sure and scared.

"Daryl." Cammie called out, running over to her uncle and wrapping her arms around his waist. Mary and Daryl shared a look, both were very angry and pretty damn worried. Daryl gave Mary a nod, knowing what she was thinking.

Mary then turned and ran for Jenner, picking up the glass bottle that had been set down on top of one of the computers on the way. "SHANE!" Rick yelled, noticing where the women was going. Mary had only managed to pull Jenner off his seat before Shane and T. pulled her away. She flung the glass bottle but it missed and hit the computer screen he was sitting at. Shane had to physically lift her up to stop her from going at Jenner again.

"Jenner, open that door now!" Rick yelled at the doctor

"There's no point." Jenner argued. "Everything top side is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed."

"Well open the damn things!" Dale ordered

"That's not something I control, the computers do. I told you. Once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again –You heard me say that… it's better this way."

"What is?" Rick asked for what felt like the hundredth time. "What happens in twenty-eight minutes?" Jenner turned away from them, not answer. Shane went to grab him but he suddenly shot up and started yelling.

"Do you know what this place is?! We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponised smallpox! Ebola outbreaks that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!" he then sat back down and took in a breath. "In the event of a catastrophic power failure and terrorist attack, for example, HITs are deployed to prevent any organism getting out."

"HITs?" Rick asked.

"Vi, define"

"_**High-Impulse Thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of a significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum pressure ignites the oxygen between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees, and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage is desired.**_"

"Daryl what does that mean, '_ignites the oxygen_.' Does that mean it sets the air on fire?!" Cammie asked, looking up at him. Daryl lowered his thumb that he was chewing the nail of and shrugged. Though he did know. Cammie was right. It set the air on fire.

"No pain." Jenner said. "An end to sorrow. Grief. Regret… Everything."

**-O-**

"OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" Daryl yelled again, slamming an axe against it with Shane. It had been 20 minutes since the doors had shut which meant they had less than ten left. Cammie was sitting with Lori and Carl. The women was holding both kids under her arms. Amy and Andrea were sitting opposite them. Jacqui was sitting at one of the desks and Carol and Sophia were holding each other on the floor next to Lori. Everyone else was busy smashing at the doors and looking for weapons.

"I can't make a dent." Shane sighed, resting his head on the table.

"Those doors were built to withstand a rocket launcher." Jenner told him

"Yeah, your head ain't!" This time it was Daryl who was going for Jenner. He raised the axe up, ready to swing at him but Dale, Rick and Shane grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Daryl! Stop!" Rick yelled, taking the axe from the Dixon's grasp.

"You _do_ want this" Jenner said, looking at Rick. "Last night you said it was just a matter of time before everybody was dead." Everyone looked at Rick for confirmation. Why would he say that?

"You really said that?" Mary asked, dropping her arms to her side. "After your big speech?"

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't?"

"There is no hope. There never was." Jenner said again.

"There's always hope. Maybe not you, but somebody, somewhere."

"What part of everything's gone do you not understand, Rick?" Jenner asked him. "This is what takes us down. This is… our extinction event."

"This isn't right!" Carol sobbed. "You can't just keep us here!"

He leaned forward in his chair. "One tiny moment, a millisecond. No pain."

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!" Carol was crying too much and had to stand up so Dale took an equally frightened Sophia off to the side.

A gun cocked and everyone looked to the source of the sound. Shane had his shotgun and looked very pissed. "SHANE NO!" Rick yelled, grabbing on to his friend.

"Out of my way, Rick!" Shane threatened, pushing Rick away. Shane aimed his shotgun at Jenner. "Open that door or I'm gonna blow your GODDAMN HEAD OFF!"

Rick stood next to Shane and spoke softly, trying to calm him down. "Brother, you do this, we'll never get out of here. If he dies, we all die!" Shane let out a scream, annoyed that he wasn't being allowed to shoot him. So instead, he turned and started firing off at the computer screens to let off steam. Rick had to smack him with the butt of said gun to make him stop because grabbing it from him wasn't enough.

"Are you done now?" Rick asked him, breathing heavily.

"Yeah, I guess we all are." Shane replied

After a short silence where no one knew what to say or do, Rick turned to Jenner. "I think you're lying." He stated simply. Seeing the confusion of Jenner's face, he continued. "You're lying. About there being no hope. If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?"

"It doesn't matter." Jenner said, wanting to avoid the subject.

"It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?"

"Not because I wanted to. I made a promise." He pointed at the screen. "To her." right now there was no one on the screen, just the clock. But Cammie knew what he meant. "My wife."

"You were married to Test Subject 19." She said out loud, filling anyone in who didn't already guess.

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no? She was dying. It should have been me on that table. It wouldn't have mattered. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field, she was an Einstein! Me? I'm just… Edwin Jenner. She could have done something about this. Not me."

"Your wife didn't have a choice. You do. That's… that's all we want. A choice. A chance."

"Let us keep trying as long as we can." Lori begged

Jenner seemed to understand, but he didn't look happy about it. "I told you topside is locked down. I can't open those." He walked over to the keypad and swiped his card and then put in a pin number and suddenly the doors opened.

"COME ON!" Daryl yelled, gesturing for Cam to come over which she did. He put his hand on her back and started running, pulling her along with him. They only had four minutes to grab their stuff and get out.

Everyone darted in their rooms, grabbed what they could in the little time they had then ran up the way they came. They had to take the stairs because the power had shut down the elevators. Once they reached the top they all ran out towards the exits. Well, not all of them. Jacqui was the only one to stay behind. She didn't want to end up like Jim.

They couldn't get the doors opened so tried using the axe's again on the windows but it was no use. Shane even tried shooting the glass but it just wouldn't break. Carol had pulled something out of her bag and handed it to Rick, saying something Cammie couldn't hear.

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" Shane screamed and suddenly she was on the ground, pulled down by Daryl who was shielding her body with his. A loud explosion went off, sending glass flying everywhere. Daryl pulled her back up and then the group ran out.

"You okay?" Mary whispered to her, catching up. Cammie nodded quickly and continued running, dodging various walkers that hadn't been put down yet. Cammie, Daryl and Mary climbed into the RV for protection and got down on the floor.

The explosion was massive and destroyed the whole building and the parking lot. If they had parked their cars any closer, they would have blown up along with the CDC.

Once everyone had moved back in their own cars, they drove off, leaving what was left of the CDC and another fallen survivor behind. Cammie buried her face in Daryl's back and tried getting her breathing back to normal. She didn't want to have to leave someone else behind again.

Hopefully everything would be alright.

**-O-**

**( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

**Now do you understand why I kept Amy alive?**

**Also, hey. It's me. Back again lmao. **

**So I wanted to do the whole CDC bit in one chapter so we would have six chapters for six episodes so that explains why this chapter is twice as long as normal because it would have been two chapters. So we have now finished season 1 and it only took a really long fucking time because im so damn lazy. **

**I wrote the note to Merle is a different font which I have never done before nor seen anyone do so I have no idea what will happen to it. It could either go back to default font or disappear completely and in case it's the second one, here it is:**

**DAD, WEN'T TO CDC. WE'LL BE WAITING! -CAMMIE**

**I have nothing else to say except the fact that Jacksepticeye liked one of my posts on tumblr ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

**That's about it. Bye! ~Daniel**


	7. For Whom the Bells Toll

Atlanta was done –that was a fact. There were too many walkers and not enough safe spaces. They had to move on. Fort Benning was the option that everyone decided on. They thought the CDC was safe so who's to say Fort Benning will be any better? It seemed as if the whole military was planted outside the CDC and walkers managed to take them down. Was anywhere safe, really? It didn't seem like it. Death was everywhere they turned.

Mary stared out the window of the RV, chewing on the tip of her thumbnail. Jacqui, Jim, Ed, Morales and his family: All gone. Okay, maybe Morales was still alive somewhere but who knows? And she didn't actually care about Ed but still. That's seven people gone. How long would it take before everyone was gone?

"Hey." Mary jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and instinctively reached for her knife that she kept hanging from her jeans but calmed down once she realised it was just Amy. "Are you alright?" Amy asked, worried.

"Yeah." Mary lied, forcing a smile. "Just wondering how Cameron's doin'." That wasn't really a lie. She was curious as to what Cameron was up to. Some of the group (Lori, mostly) didn't think it was safe for Cammie to ride on the motorcycle with Daryl so she ended up in the station wagon with Rick, Lori and the other two kids. Just thinking about it made her uneasy. Not because she didn't trust Rick and Lori –she did… sort of. It just felt weird to think how much of a happy family they looked like in the car. They were all laughing and telling jokes and stories and Cammie looked… she looked like she belonged.

"I'm sure she's fine." Amy reassured the Dixon girl, planting a soft kiss on her lips. There were a few groans that followed which made Amy and Mary smile, then pull apart.

"No kissing in front of me." Andrea told the two, going back to cleaning her gun with a blue rag she borrowed from Dale. It had only been around a week since Amy and Mary told everyone they were together and Andrea still wasn't sure she was okay with it yet. Not because they were two girls. No, it was because Mary was A Dixon. It's not that she didn't trust them, she just didn't want Amy getting close to someone who would leave in a heartbeat for her family or would even die without thinking about how it would affect others.

"Would you rather us kiss in private?" Mary asked. "We _would_ be able to do a lo—"

"Mary." Amy hissed, elbowing the other girl, making her stop. Amy was smirking however.

Andrea shook her head but also had a hint of a smile. Before the world went to shit, she would always joke about how her sister was still single and how she should get a man in her life. Well, jokes on her, huh? Took the end of the world for her little sister to find love and it was with another girl.

**-O-**

"I was just thinking about our trip to the Grand Canyon with Carl." Lori stated. Rick looked over with a smile and started laughing, memories coming flooding back.

This conversation started interested Cammie. She had never actually went on a trip, never mind a holiday. Unless you count Merle dragging her across the country to buy new hunting rifles a trip (which Cammie didn't because trips are supposed to be fun right?)

"I don't remember that." Carl said, looking between his parents.

"No, you wouldn't. You were just a baby." Lori told him. "And besides, we never made it past Fort Worth."

"No, you got sick." Rick added. "I never knew a baby could throw up so much." He joked.

"Gross." Cameron commented, sticking her tongue out.

"Yeah, gross." Lori agreed. "The Doctor in Texas said you'd live. Then we turned around and drove home."

"That sucks." Carl said

"No," Lori said, shaking her head. "It was a good trip."

"The best."

"We should go." Cameron said, staring out the window of the car. "To the Grand Canyon." She added in case they didn't understand. "I've never been and…" She trailed off, turning back around to face the other's, suddenly feeling like they didn't want her input.

"I'd like to go as well." Carl added, smiling.

"Can I come, too?" Sophia asked.

"We'd never go without you, guys." Rick told them, smiling warmly. "That's a promise."

Cameron leaned back against the car seat, resting her head on the head rest. This felt nice. Even if they were in the middle of an apocalypse. Her mind started drifting to the book she had been reading: The Maze Runner. She was almost finished the first book and was getting kind of anxious. Would they get out the maze? Would Chuck ever find his parents? Would Gally stop being a total jerk? Who knows? Next break they have, she would finish it. Though, part of her didn't want to finish it. She only had two books and she was still certain there was a third one and she doesn't have it. That would suck.

The car suddenly pulled to a stop, confusing the three kids. "What's going on?" Carl asked, looking out the front window. Daryl drove up on Rick's side and went around and then passed on Lori's side, heading forward again and once he disappeared past the RV, said RV started up again. The car followed behind for roughly five minutes before the RV stopped again and only when Dale climbed out did Rick get out of the car to see what was going on.

Cameron un-did her seatbelt and climbed into the passenger seat and out the passenger side door since the car had child locks in the back and stood back, watching what was going on. From what she heard, the RV had broken down again. Didn't they use the hose from Merles truck? Did it not work?

Cameron walked forward with Lori holding her and Carl under her arms like a protective mother unsure of what she was leading her cubs into. Cammie and Carl shared a brief look that told each other they were both confused as to what was going on.

"Problem, Dale?" Shane asked the old man.

"Just the small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of…" Dale trailed of when he saw Daryl rummaging through and open trunk of the nearest car to the RV. "Okay, that was dumb." He admitted, realising they were practically in the middle of a supply goldmine. Well, Goldmine/Graveyard.

"If you can't find a radiator hose here…" Shane said, shotgun at the ready in case anything tried to jump out at them.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find." Daryl stated, looking inside the backpack he found. There was a couple of empty water bottles and very mouldy food_. Yuck_, he though, putting it back down.

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." T. said, looking around.

"Maybe some water." Added Carol.

"Or food." Said Glenn

"Might even find some weapons if we're lucky." Added Mary, placing one hand on her hip and the other over her eyes to block out the sun.

"This is a graveyard." Said Lori, shocked at how everyone could considered scavenging through all these dead bodies. Everyone passed their looks, not sure how to reply to that. They _needed_ stuff they could find here. They were running low on gas, water, food and even clothes. Anything they could find would be useful. They were starting to not care where they got it from. "I don't know how I feel about this."

After a brief silence, Shane spoke. "Gather what you can, y'all." They couldn't just not get all the possible life saving supplies because one women didn't like it. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Cameron and Carl walked away with Lori while Mary and Amy took off in another direction and Daryl… well no one really knows where he disappeared to.

Flies buzzed around the cars that were filled with corpses that were more like skeletons now. The sun must have burned them away to nothing.

"Can we go look over there?" Cameron asked, pointing a number of large trucks around 20 meters away or so.

"Sure. Just don't leave mine or Carol's sight, okay?" The three kids nodded and ran off, running around cars and jumping over various obstacles that were laying on the road. Cameron got their first of course and tried to push open the shutters on the back of the first truck. It was a plain white one, maybe a rental. So who knows what could be in there. Sophia was carefully circling the truck next to it. Also white but it had a logo on the side. It was the Walmart logo. The third truck she didn't really get a good look at but Carl was already there so she would probably find out soon. Cameron finally yanked open the lever and the door flew open, causing Cameron to fall backwards onto the road in shock. She stood back up, rubbed her now sore hands on her combat shorts and climbed into the truck.

"Woah." She muttered. There were a ton of boxes that were marked all different. 'Kitchen supplies' and 'DVD's &amp; Books'' and 'Memories' were some of a few. Cameron looked through all of them, picking out things she thought was the coolest. She did steal a couple of the books for herself, she wasn't going to lie. She was going to need something to read when she was done with The Maze Runner.

Once she had looked through she pulled up a box marked '_David's Clothes_' and pulled it open. Based on the size of the clothes, David must have been around her age. She pulled out a few things, holding them close to her person to see if they would actually fit –which they did— and then sitting to the side. "Oohh" she awed, pulling out a black hoodie with the Sons of Anarchy Logo on the back. "Mine." She muttered, pulling it on over her plain white shirt and zipping it up. Perfect fit.

She pushed the box to the side for now and chose to look at the one next to it labelled: '_Comics._' She picked the box up and sat herself down on the red couch that was tied down to the floor of the truck and started looking through. They were mostly marvel but every now and then she would find a DC comic. She picked up a Spiderman one then shoved the box to the side and brought her legs up and started flipping through it.

"Cammie!" Her head shot up in surprise when she heard her name being called in a sort of hushed but urgent tone. It was Carl. He climbed into the truck and started trying to reach the shutter to pull it down. "Help me." He said frantically. Cammie got up from the couch, grabbed a nearby box to stand on and started pulling down the shutters.

"What's wrong?" She asked once they were down and they were plunged into darkness. The only light coming through the small window that looked into the driver's seat in the front of the truck.

Carl placed a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet, then carefully pointed to the small window. Thought the boxes and various pieces of furniture made it hard, Cammie managed to make it over to peer out the window and almost fell back in shock. There were hundreds of walkers out there. How long had she been reading that comic? And how didn't she hear them.

The two of them sat back on the couch, trying to keep their breathing normal. "Where's Sophia?" Cammie asked him quietly.

Carl shrugged. "She found some food and went to go show the others."

The two then fell into a very tension filled silence. Every now and then, a walker would bump against the side of the truck, causing them to jump in surprise and grab for each other's hand and then quickly taking it back. After the third time, they just held on tighter.

Eventually, the moans became quiet, almost non-existent. "Is it safe?" Cameron asked quietly. Carl shrugged. Cameron carefully stood up and stepped over all the boxes to look out the small window. She couldn't see any more walkers coming so they must have passed already.

"They're gone." At this, Carl decided to try to get the shutters open but failed. Even with Cammie helping, the door wouldn't budge. Out of exhaustion, the two fell back on their butts and let out a huge sigh.

"It's stuck." Carl stated.

"Yeah, I figured that out on my own."

"SOPHIA!" Both of their heads shot up when they heard their friend's name being called. The two stood up and pressed their ears on the shutters. It was Carol. What the hell was going on?

But then it wasn't just Sophia's name being called, but theirs too. It suddenly hit them that maybe the adults didn't know where they were. The two shared an understanding look before pounding on the shutters and yelling, trying to draw attention.

"Over here." They heard someone say.

"Cammie? Carl?!" Said another person who sounded like they were right in front of them.

"In here!" Cammie yelled, banging on the shutters with her fist.

"You two okay?" It was Shane. He was definitely on the other side.

"Yeah." Carl assured him. "We can't get it open."

"Hey!" They heard Shane yell. "They're over here!" The shutters then moved slightly but didn't open.

"Carl. Baby?" There was Lori.

"Damn shutters won't budge." Shane complained. "Hey, is there any other way for you two to get out?" Cameron's eyes went straight to the small window. It was a rectangle that barely took up any room on the wall. Just looking at it, Cam knew it was too small for her or Carl to fit through.

"No." She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Great, Cam thought. The dead are up and walking and she's going to die because she got trapped in a stupid rental van. Well, at least she wasn't alone. It would suck dying alone… her granddad died alone –so did her mom. Also her grandma… Were Dixons destined to die alone? Was that their curse? Cammie wasn't alone right now. Maybe she was just over-reacting at the moment. Of course she was going to get out of here. But thinking about all her dead family members, how they were all alone when they lost their lives… it scared her.

There was some commotion outside –people arguing over something. Probably how the hell to get them out. Someone (Sounded like Daryl) yelled for someone to give him something then a loud banging noise followed. It sounded like someone was repeatedly slamming the stupid handle that kept them trapped in the van. Suddenly, the shutters were up and Cammie was running out, desperate to get out of the darkness, and into her uncles arms.

"Thought you were gone just like Sophia." Daryl stated, sounding a little worried. He pulled back from the hug and looked down at his niece, seeing the fear slowly leaving her eyes only to be replaced with confusion.

"Wha—?" She asked, her voice trailing off as she began looking around, searching for her friend. Panic started to set in when she realised she couldn't see her friend anywhere. What she did see was a scared Carol, staring off into the forest next to the highway.

**-O-**

Mary didn't even think twice about it. As soon as she saw the walkers go after Sophia she was up and running after the scared girl who had ran off into the forests to escape the monsters who wanted to kill her. She vaulted over that barrier like there was no tomorrow and chased down the little girl who had become friends with her niece.

Sophia had screamed in fear when Mary had grabbed her, thinking she was a walker but calmed down when she noticed it was the oldest Dixon girl who was carrying her to safety. Once they had put a good distance between themselves and the walkers, Mary had put the girl down to catch her breath.

"Shoot them!" Sophia had cried, reaching for the gun in Mary's holster after hearing the moans of the walkers that were getting closer by the second. Mary shook her head and grabbed a hold of Sophia's wrist.

"No. We can't make any more noise or the walkers on the highway will come back." There was also the part that Mary got winded a hell of a lot easier than those stupid walkers but she decided against telling Sophia that.

Mary turned her head and saw the Walkers were only a couple of tree lines back. So she had picked Sophia up again and ran until she reached a small creek of sorts. She had jumped down and held Sophia in after her and told her to hide behind the brush which Sophia did.

"Stay here. If I'm not back in ten minutes, keep the sun on your left shoulder –that'll take you back to the highway. Got it?" Sophia nodded. "Good." Mary said, nodding her head a bit. "Good…" She said a little quieter as her attention was brought to the walkers who were almost at the edge where the ground dropped into the creek.

Then, she led the walkers away from the girl and killed them with a rock she had found. By the time she had gotten back to the place she had his Sophia, the girl was gone and Mary assumed that Sophia had made her way back to the highway. So you can imagine the fear that shot threw the women when she herself arrived back to the highway to find a frantic Carol and no Sophia.

"I swear she was right here!" Mary yelled, kicking a clump of dirt to the side in frustration. "Then—" she turned around and pointed in the direction of the highway. "I told her to go that way and keep the sun on her left damn shoulder!"

Shane sighed and rubbed a hand through his curly hair. "Girl had a close call with walkers. Must have been scared shitless. Gotta wonder how much of what you said actually stuck."

"Oh blow me, Walsh." Mary spat at him, pissed off.

"No she did like you said." Came Daryl's voice. He pointed at the tracks he had discovered while Shane and Mary were arguing. He honestly wasn't even sure why Shane had come. He was no use. Daryl and Mary could track and if they came across any walkers they had their bows. He could understand Rick coming, but not Shane. Glenn was also here, keeping guard. Also no idea why he had to come. It would have been just being Rick, Mary and himself.

"Let's spread out, make our way back." Daryl ordered. Well, they were here now so he might as well put them to work. They could actually make themselves useful.

"Hey." Shane grabbed a hold of Mary's arm as she was pulling herself out of the water and he tugged her up the rest of the way. "We're gonna find her."

Mary took her arm back and narrowed her eyes back at him. "I know." She had no idea what kind of game he was playing here where one minute he was being a complete dick-bag and then the next he was this reassuring guy who she just wanted to punch in the face.

"She was doing fine till right here." Daryl said, kneeling down and staring at Sophia's prints. He glanced back at the three men and his sister who had been following him. Shane had also kneeled down to have a look but obviously he wasn't a tracker so he wouldn't even be able to see Sophia's prints. "All she had to do was keep going. She veered off that way."

"Why would she do that?" Glenn asked, staring in the direction Daryl said she ran off in.

"Maybe a walker spooked her." Mary suggested walking over to see if she could spot any other foot prints.

"Nah." Daryl told them. "Aint any other footprints. Just hers."

"So what do we do?" Asked Shane. "All of us press on?"

"No. better if you and Glenn go back up to the highway. You too Mary." Rick added, turning to the oldest Dixon girl.

"What?" She asked, a mix of shock and anger in her voice.

"You're angry an—"

"Damn right I'm angry. It's my fault that little girl is out here in the first place. I'm staying."

"Your anger might get in the way."

"My fist might get in the way of your face if you don't shut up!" She spat. "Now I'm gonna go find that little girl. Feel free to join me." She told them before walking off, following Sophia's prints. If she didn't leave she would have punched Rick right in the nose.

**-O-**

When Shane arrived back, he started giving everyone tasks to get their mind of things. A few were challenged to move cars out the way, one was told to look after T. since he cut open his arm, the others were told to scavenge some more. Carl and Cammie were tasked with bringing over the boxes from the rental van they had gotten trapped in earlier. There was a lot of stuff in there that was useful to be fair. Clothes, possible weapons, entertainment. All sorts.

"Cool." Cammie muttered, picking up a black baseball bat that she had discovered when she moved the box that was on top of it. She swung it a few times, getting the fell for it.

"Hey." Shane's voice drew her attention away. "What did you find? Anything useful?"

"It's a baseball bat." She told him, lifting it up a bit higher. "Can I keep it?" she asked. Shane thought for a moment before nodding and Cammie smiled. She tucked it under her arm and picked up the box labelled '_Sports eq_.' which was heavier than she anticipated and carefully stepped out of the truck, passing Carl on the way to the RV.

He was worrying about Sophia (Most people were). Cammie didn't feel the need to worry –not yet anyway. She had her uncle and aunt –two of the best hunters she knew- looking for Sophia. They were _going_ to find her and that was just a fact.

Cammie sat the box down next to the RV and the baseball dropped from under her arm. She picked it back up and dragged it behind her when she climbed into the RV. Amy was sitting with T. who looked anything but okay. There was blood all over his shirt and arm and even leaking through his bandages.

She remembered seeing a box labelled 'Jim shirts'. Maybe Jim was the same size as T.? Quickly, she headed out and started looking around the boxes. She spotted it by the wheel and started looking around. Jim actually seemed a lot bigger than T. but he wouldn't mind would he? She pulled out a blue button down with short sleeves and then before she climbed back in the RV, curiousness over took her. She glanced at her dads back –more specifically, the little bag that hung off it. She wasn't an idiot, she knew her dad took all types of drugs when he could. Hell, before they met up with this group, he raided a pharmacy for anything he could find because his dealer was killed in the early days and his own stash was running low. Maybe the pharmacy pills he stole would still be in there. She quickly ran over and dug her hand in and began feeling around. A plastic bag grazed against her finger tipps and she dived in further to grab it and yanked out the plastic bag to see it was filled with various capsules filled with pills. _Thank god_, she thought.

By the time she had reached the RV again, Dale was also inside, looking around the cabinets above the sink. "I know I had some pain killers here." He muttered under his breath. "Oh, hey Cam. Anything I can help you with?" He asked, his eyes wondering down to the objects in her hand.

"No… but I think I can help you." She smirked and put down the clean t-shirt and bag filled with medication.

"Where do you get these?" Dale asked, reaching for them to see what goodies would actually help T.

Cammie didn't really want to say that her dad was a junkie, that he stole all of this to fill his drug addicted needs. So she just shrugged. "Found 'em." She lied. "Will any of them help?" she asked, going on her tip-toes and looking down at the bag in Dale's hands.

"Yeah." Dale said, smiling. Then he did something that took Cammie off guard. _He hugged her_. Dale pulled her in for one of the tightest hugs she had ever had and then ruffled a hand through her long hair. "You're amazing." He told her.

"What's the –uh… what's the shirt for?" T. asked, shivering.

"I thought you might like one that isn't covered in blood." Cammie told him, grinning. T. Laughed and nodded.

Mary, Daryl and Rick arrived back a little later when everyone was just starting to set up for bed. Carol was the first to run over to them and began to lose a lot of hope when she saw that Sophia wasn't with them.

"You didn't find her?" Carol breathed out, shaking her hands.

"Her trail went cold." Rick informed her. "We'll pick it up again at first light."

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own to spend the night alone in the woods." Carol cried.

"Out in the dark's no good." Daryl said. "We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people would get lost."

"But she's twelve! She can't be out there on her own." Carol cried. "You didn't find anything."

"I know this i—" Mary who had been quiet during the whole thing tried to comfort the women but what shut down almost instantly.

"You don't know anything!" Carol snapped at her. "My little girls out there all alone. How would you know what that feels like?" Carol sobbed and Mary tried her best not to react. Cameron could tell Mary wanted to scream at Carol, wanted to scream at herself. It was painful for Cammie to watch her aunt try not to break down at that remark.

"We know she was out there. "Rick took the attention away from Mary, sensing it was cuasing her some kind of distress.

"Yeah, and we tracked her for a while." Daryl added, worryingly glancing over at his sister every now and again.

"We have to make this an organised effort." Rick addressed the whole group. "Daryl and Mary know the woods better than anybody. I've asked them to oversee this."

"Is… is that blood?" Carol suddenly asked, pointing at the blood stain on Daryl's trousers.

"We took a down a walker." Rick told her, trying to calm her down.

"A walker?" she asked softly. "Oh my god." The women then sat herself down and tried to get her breath back.

"But there was no sign it was ever near Sophia." Rick told her

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked.

Rick and Daryl shared a look before Daryl spoke. "We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure."

"How could you just leave her out there to begin with?!" Carol barked at Mary. "How could you just leave her?!"

"I'm sorry." Mary muttered, tears glazing over her eyes. "There were walkers and I— I thought…"

"My daughter is out there all alone because you thought wrong!" When the tears rolled down Mary's face, she ran for the RV. To everyone else, it might look like Mary was just upset that she had left Sophia out there on her own and was over-reacting just a tad because of course, Sophia wasn't her daughter. But to Daryl and Cammie who knew about Delsin, it was so much more.

"Hey!" Daryl practically yelled, stopping Carol from yelling at his sister anymore. "You don't get to talk to her like that!"

"My daughter—"

"Your daughter would be dead if Mary hadn't of done what she did. Dead, ya hear me?" And with that, Daryl followed after his sister who he found in the bathroom of the RV, sitting on the floor, her cried getting muffled by her hands which were covering her face.

"We're gonna find that girl." Daryl told her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close. "She's gonna be fine." He whispered, resting his head on top of hers.

"but if we don't—" she sniffed.

Daryl knew there was no pint in continuing to say 'We will' so he answered her. "Then it aint your fault, alright? It never was."

**-O-**

First light came quicker than anyone expected and everything started being set up for the first search for Sophia. Cammie was used to getting up at around 5am so it wasn't exactly hard for her but she couldn't speak for everyone else who was still groggy and sleepy when 6am rolled by.

"Everybody takes a weapon." Rick said, rolling out the arsenal Carl had found last night. It had hatchets, machetes, things like that. All very sharp. All very deadly.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need. "Andrea stated, placing one hand on her hip. "What about the guns?"

"We've been over that." Shane said without looking up. "Daryl, Mary, Rick and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the tree's I'm worried about." Andrea replied.

"Let's say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it." Shane told her, annoyed.

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles," Daryl started before anyone started arguing. "Turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark."

"Stay quiet and stay sharp." Rick told the group. "Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other." He then turned to Dale. "Dale, keep us those repairs. We need this RV ready to move."

"We won't stay a minute longer than we have to." Dale said. "Good luck out there. Bring Sophia back."

"Keep an eye on the kids while we're gone." Rick asked him, nodding towards Carl and Cammie who had been next to him.

"We're going with you." Cam said, quickly looking at Carl for confirmation that he too wanted to go.

"Yeah, you need more people right? Cover as much ground as possible." Carl added.

"Your call." Lori said, facing Rick. "I can't always be the bad guy."

"Well, they have all you to look after them. I'd say they're in good hands." Dale said.

"Okay. Okay." Rick finally agreed. "I'll double check with Daryl to make sure you can go." He said to Cammie who just smiled, knowing Daryl would be cool with it.

"What's that on your back, sweetie?" Lori asked her when Rick turned to go talk to Daryl.

Cammie smiled and took the bat off her back and held it up proudly. "Dale let me borrow some nails and rope and look." She nodded at the rope that had been nailed into the bat. "I made a kinda sling so I can carry it on my back. Kinda like what you do with a guitar."

"I wish I had a weapon." Carl admitted when she was slinging it back on.

"There was lots of stuff in that truck. I'm sure theres something." She told him, smiling.

"Alright." Rick said, walking back over. "Daryl says it's cool. You both gotta stay in our sights, all right? No exceptions." Then, Rick and Lori walked away to get set things up. Carl and Cammie smiled and waved at Dale before also walking away.

Dale still wasn't giving Andrea her gun because of Shane's orders so when they set off she was a little more than pissed but everyone elected to ignore it. Carl and Cammie were walking next to each other near the back.

"Hold on." Carl told Cammie before slowing down se he fell in line with Shane. He was still excited that his dad had let him carry one of the smaller knives and wanted to show it off. "Shane, look." He said, holding it out to the older man. "Dad said I could carry it and mom said as long as I was—"

Shane cut him off. "Keep it down. We're looking for Sophia." Shane turned and began walking backwards, making sure nothing was coming up behind them. "You need to focus on the task." Shane had already began to slow down to keep an eye on the area so Carl walked forward again and caught up with Cammie who had stopped to wait on him a bit ahead.

"You alright?" Cammie asked him, sensing something was wrong.

"I think Shane's mad at me." Carl admitted.

Cammie glanced back at the man and shrugged. "Who cares what he thinks?"

"Yeah but… do you think I did something wrong?" Cammie shook her head.

"Nah. He's probably just worried about Sophia. We all are."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean you have to be a jerk." Carl muttered just loud enough that Cammie could hear, causing her to snicker.

Mary and Daryl who were at the front of the group, held up their hands, signalling for them to stop and duck down to avoid making any sounds.

"She could be in there." Shane said, looking at the tent that was around ten metres in front of them.

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there." Daryl added as he and Mary both stood up in unison and started slowing making their way towards the tent, bows up.

"Do you think she's in there?" Carl whispered to Cammie who just shrugged. There's no telling what could be in there.

Mary and Daryl circled the tent, trying to get a look in but they couldn't get a clear enough view. Daryl looked at Rick and shrugged. Rick then turned and whispered for Carol to come over.

"Call out softly." Said Rick, walking forward with Carol next to him. "If she's in there, yours is the first voice she should hear."

"Sophia? Sweetie? Sophia, its Mommy. Sophia. We're all here, baby. It's Mommy." When no response came, Daryl and Mary shared a look and as if they had planned it all out without even speaking, Daryl yanked up the flap of the tent and Mary aimed up her bow, ready to fire. She gagged and turned her head away at the intense smell that blew up her nostrils. Something had definitely died in there. She climbed in first and made a disgusted face when she saw the dead man sitting on the lawn chair with a bullet in his brains and maggots eating away at his flesh.

"Gross." She muttered, stepping back out of the tent, leaving Daryl alone inside.

"Mary?" Carol asked.

Mary shook her head. "It's not her."

"What's in there?" Lori asked.

Daryl then came out of the tent with a new gun in his hands. Probably the one the guy used to kill himself. "Just some guy. Did what Jenner said: Opted out. Aint that what he called it?" He asked, looking at Mary who nodded.

Everyone head looked up when the sounds of bells ringing filled the air. Everyone looked around, trying to locate the direction of where it was coming from. Rick was the first to figure it out and he pointed behind him and then everyone began running to get there. The ringing started getting louder which meant they were getting closer. Who would be ringing bells? Someone could be trying to signal others, or maybe that they found Sophia. Maybe she was ringing them herself.

Once they passed the tree line, a white church in the middle of a graveyard came into view. It was the source of the ringing, no question about it. But it didn't have a steeple which confused everyone.

"That can't be it. Got no steeple. No bells." Shane pointed out but Rick wasn't listening as he was already running again. "Rick!" Shane called after him. The group ran to the church, following behind Rick and Shane. By now the ringing had stopped but the question was: how did it even start? There were no bells.

Rick and Shane slowly opened the large red doors and inside they saw three walkers sitting in the benches which crept Mary out. Did they die sitting there or did the walkers sit themselves down? She wasn't sure which answer she preferred.

Daryl, Rick and Shane took care of the three walkers using the machetes and hatchet from the arsenal and then took the bodies outside so everyone could come inside and not have to deal with their smell.

Shane was telling Rick that this had to be the wrong church because of the lack of steeple when the bells began tolling again, causing everyone to run outside to see what was causing it. Glenn got there first and screwed up his face when he saw the microphone screwed into the wall with a wire coming down from it and into a metal box.

"A timer." Daryl panted, tired from all that running. "It's on a timer."

"I'm gonna go back in for a bit." Said Carol, disappointed.

Carl and Cammie went inside along with a few others and sat on the back bench, not talking. Cammie was staring at the statue of Jesus on the cross at the front of the room. She believed in god. Then again, she believed in everything: Mermaids, fairies, vampires, angels, demons, gods. The lot. She always found it weird that only one god existed and all the other religions aren't real, so she decided '_why can't they all be real?_' she likes to imagine all the different gods taking turns to do their job since a lot of them have the same one. Like the ones for raising the sun. And she likes to imagine that mermaids are swimming with the dolphins and fairies are kidnapping people and taking them into another dimension and Angels are up in heaven, keeping everything in order and demons are walking the earth, buying people's souls. It's just fun for her.

"Let's go." Lori's voice brought her out of her little trance and her and Carl squeezed out of the pews and left the church.

"Y'all gotta follow the creek bed back, okay? Daryl, you're in charge." Shane addressed the group. "Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so. Just to be thorough."

"You're splitting us up. You sure?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you."

"I want to stay, too." Carl said.

"Same." Cammie said next. "Sophia's our friend.

"Just be careful, okay?" Lori said, ruffling Carl's hair.

"I'm coming, too." Mary's voice shocked everyone. "It's my fault that little girls out here in the first place. Plus, I doubt you two will be able to find your way back without a tracker." She grinned.

**-O-**

The four had been walking around the forests for roughly an hour when Mary stopped them because she heard twigs snapping. It was quiet, but it happened. She raised her bow up in the direction it came from and started carefully walking forward to get a better look at whatever made the noise.

Marys gasp was audible when she saw the deer. A freaking deer. A stag at that. Do you have any idea how much meat that thing has on it? It could feed them well –really fill up their stomachs. It would be fresh as well which is like a bonus. Mary narrowed her eyes at her target and was going to fire off an arrow when she felt a tap on her shoulder. First she looked back at Rick and then to her niece and Carl who she just noticed were walking towards it. Mary smiled and lowered her weapon, watching.

They were so close. They were actually going to touch a deer! Carl glanced back, smiling, then looked forward again at the deer, then over to Cammie who was staring it with just as much awe as he was.

Carl stood on a branch, alerting the deer to their presence and they both stopped and held their breaths in case it heard and ran away. But it didn't. It stood and stared at them like they were staring at it. It was like he knew they weren't a danger.

The two kids were maybe a meter away when a bullet rang out, going through the deer and then Cammie, Causing the girl to fall backwards with the force of it.

It took a few seconds for everyone to realise what had happened but when they did they were rushing over and dropping down next to her, checking her pulse, the bullet wound, everything.

Carl kept trying to hold her hand but it was so limp it kept falling and he couldn't get a grip on it. He looked at the bullet wound. It was on her left side, just under her ribs. Then he looked at her face: Pale… lifeless. He swallowed down a cry because a sudden realisation had hit him.

She looked dead.

**-O-**

**Dun, dun, dun… **

**Yeah so I wanted to say sorry because my computer broke and I couldn't use the internet and I tried to upload it from my phone but after every line there was just a bunch of code and I was not putting you guys through that. So I had to wipe my whole laptop (BUT DON'T WORRY I HAD EVERYTHING BACKED UP) and now its good.**

**Seriousness aside… SEASON 2? Yes, we are here. We did it. A lot of people were saying that they wanted Cammie to still get shot so she did. I know in 'Blood' season two was written terribly but fear not, I'm a better writer than I was then and honestly I hadn't planned this story at all but I have planned this one!... more or less. **

**Now I know some of you are asking: 'WHO THE HELL IS DELSIN?!' Well… *taps nose* you gonna find out, son. Just not yet. **

**I think this is long enough without the extra authors note so I shall bid you adieu and I'll talk to you later, dudes! (Honestly if you PM me I will reply no doubt about it. I love messaging other writers)**

**If you wanna follow me on tumblr then here you go: . **

**Follow/favourite if you want to see more and Review/PM me if you want to tell me what you liked/didn't like about this chapter or the story in general! **

**~Daniel**


	8. Wake Me Up

That morning Cameron (Cammie to her friends and family) Dixon woke up in her black and grey checker' d bed fully rested. She happily swung her legs out and felt the soft purple carpet under her toes and the warm air of Atlanta seep into her room through the gap in her open window. If she had looked at her reflection in the mirror that stood in the corner of her room she would have seen her hair was all messy and her 'DIXON-NATION' T-shirt still had an apple juice stain on it from last night when Delsin had spilt his drink on her.

She picked out a black sweater and a pair of knee-length jeans and a pair of mismatched socks and then headed into the shower, grabbing a towel on the way. She took time to clean herself, loving the feeling of the warm water. Then she got dressed, and dried her long hair before putting it into a high pony-tail. When she went downstairs her mom was just finishing up breakfast and her dad was cleaning his rifle on the table even though her mom had told him not to about a hundred times.

After her mom had slapped her dad over the back of the head with a newspaper and he had put the weapon under the table, the three started eating their breakfast of bacon, sausage and buttered toast. They laughed and talked about their plans for the day and about last night's previous events. When breakfast had finished, her dad had grabbed his bag, put his hat on and called for her to hurry up –she never got her school stuff ready on time!

Once her black bag had been filled with the homework she had completed last night she got into her dad's truck and he dropped her off at school, waved her off, then drove off to work.

Cammie met her best friend –Parker was his name— at the front of the school and together they both walked inside their Middle School. They went through their day like any other day, doing work and hating teachers. By lunch they were exhausted. But their other friend who they hadn't see for the first part of the day appeared, excited to show them something she had been working on for science.

When the end bell came, Cammie shot out of school and began running to town—she loved running. First she went into the local corner store to get her weekly supply of spearmint tic-tacs and a tub of peanut-butter. _and_ also said his to the cashier, Dave. Dave had come to expect the girl every Friday and always kept a few packs of the stuff lying around. Then she went to the pets store.

"They're in the back!" The lady at the front desk said without even looking up.

"Thanks Fiona!" Cammie called, running into the back room.

She went into the back where they kept the new puppies and their parents. Fiona and her wife had been breeding dogs –two in particular that Cammie had been interested in. She loved animals. She had wanted the dad dog since they brought him in but they weren't allowed dogs at her house so she came to visit every Friday.

She sat down in front of the box-fort-type thing that had been built for the puppies and the mother. The dad was acting as a sort of guard outside the fort. The dog who had been named Teddy came over to her excitedly, licked her face, then sniffed in her bag. "Yeah, I got it," she laughed, pulling the peanut-butter out.

She then moved a few boxes out of the way so she could get a clear view of the mother –A border Collie named Ellie— and her puppies who had yet to be named –officially. Cammie of course had names for all of them.

Teddy sat next to Cammie while she –with difficulty- opened the peanut butter jar. When it did open, it opened with a pop which got the Collie's excited. Cammie scooped some onto her fingers and then into her mouth, wanting to have a taste, before she handed the tub to Teddy who took a good couple of licks, then giving some to Ellie.

She stayed for around fifteen more minutes before she had to go. She waved goodbye to the dogs, put the fort back together, then left, running down the street, popping a few tic-tacs in her mouth every now and then.

Finally, she was at her last stop. 'DIXON-NATION'. A hunting store owned by her dad, her uncle, and her aunt. It was a family business that their grand-dad started and passed down to them. The bell above the door dinged when she walked in, alerting everyone to her presence.

Her uncle, who was checking the shelves, and was nearest her, smiled warmly at her and welcomed her, and then asked her how her day had been and she replied like she always did. "It was good."

For the next hour and a bit, she helped around the store. She mostly stood by the cashier and watched through the window that showed the target-practice area to see her aunt who was on duty to make sure no one shot each other… or them-selves.

When they went home, her mom had already cooked a big dinner fit for a king. They laughed and talked about their day and Cammie told them –in detail- the creative story she had written in English that focused on a group of people who were trying to survive the end of the world which made her parents laugh.

Then at the end of the night, Cammie put her clothes in the wash and threw on a pair of gym shorts and her 'DIXON-NATION' Tee and climbed into bed and fell into a restless sleep which she awoke from hours later, startled and crying.

It had only taken a minute for her mom to come in, turn the lights on and go to her daughter's side. "What's wrong?" she asked, worried.

"You were dead!" Cammie choked out, still scared from her dream. "You were dead! And –and dad lost his hand! And people were coming back from the dead and I was so scared…" Tears started pouring out her eyes and she pulled her mother close and cried into her chest. When she pulled back, she gasped and started shaking her head. "No… not again," she whimpered. Her mom's face was no longer beautiful and young, but sunken, with flesh peeling away and her hair falling out… her hands were digging into Cammie's shoulders, trying to pull her closer and Cammie held onto what used to be her mom's arms and held her at bay, shaking and crying. "NO!" She screamed. "STOP!"

**-O-**

That morning Cameron (Cammie to her family) Dixon woke up in her plain black bed, tired as all hell. She reluctantly swung her legs out and shivered when her bare feet touched the cold wooden panels. If she had looked at her reflection in the mirror hung on her wall, then she would have seen that she was still wearing the same old dirty clothes she had on yesterday –she fell asleep in them.

She picked out a grey jumper and a pair of grey sweatpants and a pair of mismatched socks and then headed into the shower, grabbing a towel on the way. She quickly cleaned herself, got dressed, and shoved her short hair under a hair. When she got downstairs her dad was already gone and her mom was still asleep so she took it upon herself to make a bowl of cereal. When she finished, she put it in the sink, and grabbed her bag which she had packed the night before and left for school.

She sat on the school bus alone, sitting with her head resting against the window, watching the tree's go by. She was the first stop because she lived the furthest away from the school, so she had to be up extra early to catch it.

When she arrived at school, she walked in alone, avoiding everyone. She only had one friend at this school and he wasn't in today –he was in hospital again— so she had to deal with everything alone. She was almost thankful by the time the lunch bell rang. Mrs Philps kept pestering her about her assignment on her family life and Cammie knew she wouldn't understand that she _couldn't _write about her family life… not honestly, anyway. Lunch wasn't exactly better, however, as Parker, Cammie's enemy, had started on her with all his friends so she quickly threw a lunch tray at him then ran.

When the end bell came, Cammie went to the library to do some extra work she had to complete. The math stuff was easy to her and she completed it in under five minutes. She honestly thinks the teachers give her this stuff because they think she's stupid because her last name is Dixon. She quickly made up a story about a girl with a perfect life and long hair whose parents were the rulers of a kingdom for English, then left the library, making sure to say goodbye to the librarian.

When Cammie got home, she started making herself some dinner. She made herself some pizza and wolfed it down. Then she put it in the sink and started cleaning the dishes. Once they were done, she took a freshly cleaned plate and started making her mom some dinner –toast, bacon, and scrambled egg. She carried it to her mom's room on a wooden tray and slowly pushed the door open with her foot. She knew her mom was awake so she called out to her and earned a groan back.

She sat the tray on the bedside table and then scooted into her mom's bed and shook her. Her mom turned around and pushed herself up. Cammie became enraged at the bruises that were still fresh on her mom's face.

Why did dad have to drink?

She took the tray and handed it to her mom and smiled. Her mom smiled back in gratitude and began eating and Cammie tried to start a conversation, but quickly saw that her mother was still being heavily effected by her father's harsh and un-called for words.

"He's wrong, y'know," she said, earning a look of confusion. "You are something… You're something to me. I think you're the most special and strongest person in the world… I love you, mom," Cammie said, staring at her mom. These words weren't much… but they were enough to make her mother feel a hell of a lot better.

A few hours later, it was made clear her dad wasn't coming home so Cammie went to sleep, knowing that her mom wouldn't have to deal with him.

A few hours later, she was being shaken awake by her mom. "WAKE UP!" She screamed at the girl. Cammie stared at her, confused and slightly scared. "You have to wake up!" Her mother told her, her nails digging into her arms so hard Cammie was sure they drew blood.

"I don't want to…" Cammie cried. It was as if all her memories had come back to her at once. She knew that she would rather live in this world than that one. She would rather wake up every day with a different life than have the same crappy one where she didn't have both her parents.

"You're dying, kid," Her dad's voice spoke out, pulling her attention up to the door where he stood, still wearing the last clothes she saw him in… he had both his hands though. "And I ain't gonna let you do that."

"Please, Cammie," Her mom begged… "Please wake up."

**-O-**

It had been three days… three agonizing days that Cammie had been unconscious. There was a brief couple of minutes when she had woken up, dazed and confused, and had looked at himself and Mary who had been in the room and asked them what happened to the deer. They didn't even get a a chance to reply because she had seizure and after, fell back into her deep sleep. Daryl had hoped that she would wake up after the surgery which was only able to happen because he, Shane and Otis had gone to grab the gear. He did feel guilty about what had happened to Otis and he felt even worse about listening to Shane… but they had to… He wasn't going to let Cammie die and if that meant Otis died then so be it.

Daryl was worried about his twin. If Cammie died… he didn't think she would survive. Nobody could handle going through something like that twice. Mary kept going in to check on Cammie, but she couldn't stay in the room for more than five minutes before having to leave. He had to keep reminding her it wasn't her fault.

Carl was a different story. The kid hadn't left her side since they brought her in. Rick had to force him to leave at nights but even then Rick would come downstairs to find his son asleep in the arm chair –kid would sneak out of his room to be near her. It didn't bother Daryl at all… not really. He liked that they had grown close. Maybe if they found Sophia, Cammie would get better quicker.

Mary had gone out earlier in the day, taken one of the horses so she could look around. He tried to tell her they should go together but she wouldn't hear it. She just left.

"Daddy!" A young voice called out –Beth, was it? Had called out, followed by some coughing. But that wasn't her coughing… Cammie.

He bolted into the room along with Hershel to see Cammie looking around, scared and a little bit groggy.

"Da—" She cut herself short as her eyes started adjusting and looking around the room. "Wha—?" She was so confused. The last thing she could remember was the deer and that… that god-awful dream. Or would it class as a nightmare?

"Cameron?" Hershel asked straight away, sitting down beside her and placing the back of his hand on her forehead. "Do you remember anything?" Cammie shook her head and stared at the strange man touching her.

The next hour was just Daryl filling talking to her and eventually being pushed out by Carl. Well, he uses 'pushed out' harshly. Of course he wanted to sit with Cammie and just talk to her. God knows he doesn't get to do it enough. But the way her face lit up when she laughed with him… he decided best to let them hang out alone.

**-O-**

Mary finished the bottle of scotch she found in the farm house. She had checked inside, outside and all around but Sophia was still nowhere. She had found a blanket and a pillow in the pantry. Someone her size could have slept in there pretty comfy and safe. She was running out of ideas about where this girl could be… she _had_ to be somewhere.

She took the sharpie she stole from Hershel's place and wrote 'Barn – small camp' on her arm, then put the lid back on the pen and shoved it back in her pocket.

She picked up the Cherokee Rose she found growing outside the barn and carefully put it in the inside pocket of her jacket, making sure not to damage it.

She had already decided she wanted to give it to Carol, so when she walked into the RV, she placed it in the first thing she found which happened to be an empty beer bottle, and added some water. Then she had a look around to see that the RV had been cleaned. Things were in their place and nothing that should have been out was. It was much different than Dales usually messy decorating.

"I cleaned up. I want it to look nice for Sophia," Carol said from the back.

"Yeah… for a second I uh— I thought I was in the wrong RV," Mary commented. She then placed the beer bottle on the counter near the bed where Carol was sitting.

"A flower?" She asked.

"Cherokee Rose…" Mary corrected. "Merle used to tell me an' Daryl this story before we went to bed at night. The story goes that when the American soldiers moving the natives off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much, 'cause they were losing their kids along the way… from exposure and –and disease, and starvation. Most of the time they just disappeared, though. So the Elders, they said a prayer… they asked for a sign to uplift the mothers spirits." She smiled. "To give them strength and hope. The next day…" Mary looked at the flower. "They started to grow right where the mothers' tears fell…" Mary looked back over to Carol, her face falling. "I had a son… he –uh, he went missing and… I was so scared and… I don't believe in God but I prayed to God –prayed for him to bring my son home or atleast show me a sign that he was okay… then these roses started growing outside my house. I ain't stupid enough to think that there's a chance this rose could be for Merle… I do believe it's for Sophia."

Carol stared at her and quickly wiped the tears away from her eyes. She had no idea what to say to a confession like that. "Would you –uh. Would you like something to eat?" She smiled, already standing up.

"No thank you," She politely denied. "I have to get back out. There's a lot more searching to do and I don't want people to know I'm back yet." Mary was already turning around when Carol called out again.

"Cammie's awake, by the way," She quickly informed her. Mary turned just her head around and smiled.

"Tell her I said Hi," She said before walking out of the RV and disappearing once again.

**-O-**

Carl and Cammie had been talking for what felt like hours now. They just laughed and discussed the most random things. Cammie even gave him a basic run down of what had happened in the first book of 'The Maze Runner' and her theories for what she thought was going to happen.

But suddenly, Carl got serious. "I told you something that wasn't true…" He admitted.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"Yesterday you woke up –only for a minute. No one else even knows. The first thing you asked me was 'How's Sophia?' and I told you she was okay…" Cammie nodded her head, understanding. She had wondered why Sophia hadn't come to see her yet.

"It's okay…"

"No it's not… I'm sorry. And to prove it, I want you to have something." Carl held up his dad's sheriff hat that he had been wearing recently. "He gave it to me a couple days ago… I want you to have it.

"What? No." She refused.

"I want you to." He placed it on the bed.

She looked between him and the hat. Convinced he was serious, she picked it up and put it on her head. It didn't fit very well but she did like the feeling of it.

Carl was about to tell her that she looked good but Patricia interrupted him.

"I got some pills you need to take. They'll knock you right out so you can have an easy night's rest."

"How fast do they work?" Cammie asked, looking at the women as she poured two into Cammie's hand.

"Really fast. So say goodnight to your friend –Carl, is it?" Carl nodded.

"Here's some water to help 'em go down easy." Then, Patricia left after telling Carl to leave as soon as Cammie was asleep. They want him to have a goodnight's rest as well and he cannot do that in an armchair.

Cammie looked at him, smiled, then put the pills in her mouth and washed them down with the water. She understood what Patricia meant about them working fast. She was already feeling drowsy. She took the hat off and sat it next to her before sliding down the bed so her head was lying flat against the pillow. She yawned and her eyes fluttered closed.

"Cammie?" Carl asked quietly, seeing if she was still awake.

"Yeah?" she asked in a quiet, tired voice.

"…goodnight," he quickly said, deciding he didn't want to say what he had originally planned.

"…night…" her voice drained out and he knew she was asleep. He took the hat that was now next to her and put it on the nightstand. Then he walked out of the room, glanced back at a sleeping Cammie and thought about how he loved her with all his heart, then turned off the light and left the room.

_Why didn't he tell her?_

-O-

_**I am so sorry for the lack of updates! School has turned out to be very demanding. Did you know you have to write essays for art? I sure didn't… why did I pick that subject? **_

_**Anyway, I got the idea to do a kind of dream sequence and I spent like four hours writing this chapter. **_

_**In case anyone is confused; Cammie keeps reliving the same life in different scenarios. You get to see two of them at the beginning of the chapter. The first is a perfect life and the second is quite the opposite. That's why she said "no… not again" because at the end of every one, she remembers it's a dream. **_

_**I'll try to get another chapter up soon. I'm getting real excited for this fanfic again (and for a few others that I'm working on) **_

_**Follow/Favourite if you want to see more and PM/Review to tell me what you like/didn't like about this chapter or the story so far! **_

_**I'll see you dudes next time! ~Danny **_

_**(P.S: God-dammit Carl just tell her u love her!)**_


	9. Crystals

"What? No way," Carl said, taking another spoonful of cereal that Beth had brought him. Cammie also had a bowl but she had finished already –wolfed it down in about a minute.

"It's true… sort of. If you believe in that sort of thing, I guess," She said, laughing a bit, sorting the hat so it would sit on her head properly. It kept slipping. She had been telling him about her theory on fairies and everything she had read. She was sure they were stealing people from this dimension and taking them over to another one and it was being played off as 'Alien Abduction'. Sneaky.

"…Sophia liked fairies," Carl suddenly said. Cammie didn't want the mood to go south, so she decided to lighten it quickly.

"Remember that scary story she told us back at the quarry? About the fridge and the gnomes?" Carl suddenly let out a laugh and put his bowl to the side.

"Yeah, I remember not sleeping for two whole days because I thought I gnome was going to suffocate me in my sleep," He said, serious.

"Yeah…" She began thinking of all the different things Sophia had done, her thoughts suddenly turning her attention to her wrist. She lifted it up and admired the charm bracelet that was still tied around it. It was splattered in blood, and a hell of a lot dirtier than it had been when she had first made it, but that didn't make her sad. It actually reminded her that she was alive, and that made her happy. She began to wonder if Sophia was thinking the same thing. Was she looking at her charm bracelet and remembering the good times to keep her going?... _was her dad_?

"Alright, up and at 'em," The silence was broken by Patricia who had walked in and drawn the curtains, letting all the mornings light shine in and momentarily blind both Carl and Cammie. Patricia turned around, hands on hips, and started at the two of them who looked at her with confusion. "What? You think you're gonna get better stayin' in that bed all day?" Cammie slowly shook her head, not really sure what else to do. "Exactly," She looked at Carl expectantly, and when he didn't move, she sighed. "Get out," she told him, "I don't think Cameron wants you to see her get changed, do you?" She asked, turning to Cammie who was internally cringing at being called 'Cameron'

"Uh, no," She said, shaking her head and looking at Carl who was already getting up.

"Bye, then," he said, smiling for a second, then looking at Patricia and leaving. Something about the woman was just so terrifying that you just had to do what she wanted.

"Alright, I washed those knee-lengths jeans of yours, but your top and shirt are still drying, so I grabbed you something of Beth's that I thought might fit. You don't mind right? Beth… she likes bright colours and flowers and such, so I'm sorry if it's not quite your taste, then again I don't think it really matters," Patricia talked on and on, going all around the room, tidying up, and then she laid out clothes that Cammie doesn't even remember her bringing in with her. "C'mon," Patricia said, holding out her hand. Cammie gulped and threw the covers off her and took her hand, swinging her legs over the bed slowl and carefully, wincing at almost every movement. "Oh, hush," Patricia sighed. She helped Cammie stand up on the floor and keep her balanced. "You can come out when you're ready, okay?" Cammie nodded, and with those final words, Patricia was gone, leaving Cammie alone to get changed.

Cammie looked over to where the clothes were laid out and examined them. There was her jeans that she had rolled up so they stopped just below her knee. Then she saw the clothes that had belonged to Beth. A white undershirt and a long yellow tank top with a flowery pattern on the bottom corner that crawled up the side of it to go over it.

_Awesome_.

**-O-**

Mary shot up out of the water, coughing and spluttering out the water which she had breathed in. She pinched the bridge of her nose and dragged her index finger and thumb down, pushing out any water that had still been there. When that damn horse had thrown her, she had fallen right into this fucking creek, and in the deep end. She must have hit her head pretty hard to think it was ok to breathe under water.

Fucking horse.

It was only when she tried to turn herself so she was on her knees she felt the pain. She hissed and looked down, her breath hitching when she saw the arrow going through her thigh. "Oh fuck, " She hissed, looking around.

She managed to get up, but she could barely put pressure on her leg without falling over, so she had to basically drag herself along. Once she had sat herself safely on a rock, she used her knife which had thankfully not stabbed her on the way down, she cut her jeans off just above where the arrow was, then tried to make it the same length on the other leg for symmetry. She then took off her belt used it to tie the spare fabric above the arrow to stop the bleeding.

Once that was done, she started putting more pressure on her leg which hurt like a bitch, but she had to go back into the creek to retrieve her bow. So she grabbed the biggest and sturdiest stick she could find that didn't break with too much pressure and went back into the deep end, using it to help her find her bow.

Once she did find it, she now only had one problem: Getting back up. The hill up was extremely steep and muddy, and would be difficult to get up even with two perfectly good legs. She strapped the crossbow to her back, put Sophia's doll in her bra, and used the stick to help her walk. Maybe it would be easier to take the arrow out, but she has no idea what it hit. There's a major artery there and if she takes it out she could bleed to death before making it back to the farm, and she'd rather not, to be perfectly honest.

"Don't be a lil' bitch," she muttered to herself, groaning as she pulled herself up using the tree's that had grown in at awkward angles to pull herself up. She lodged her left foot in a small hole and pushed herself up, digging her fingers into the dirt and pulling herself up, the arrow dragging into the ground, causing her to yell out in pain.

Eventually, she did make it to the top. She stood herself up and looked down. There were walkers starting to come out from the bushes, and she let out a sigh. Thank god she hadn't been down there, because the only arrow she had on her, was in her leg.

"_You dun' good, lil' sister_," Mary turned around, sure she heard Merle's voice. She looked left, then right, and then behind her, but the only things in the woods were her and the birds above.

"_You sure you gon' make it back to the farm? With __**that**__ leg_?" Merles mocking laugh followed quickly, echoing all around her.

"_I'll tell ya, lil' sister, I'm sure glad it was you out here today, because I don't think you could take care of my lil' girl if Darlena had died out here. I mean, you remember what happened to Delsin_?"

"SHUT UP!" She screamed at the forest, causing all the birds overhead to fly away. "SHUT UP!" She yelled again, moving forward, throwing the stick aside and deciding to drag her bad leg along with her, moving at a fast pace. She had to get back to the farm.

**-O-**

Cammie sat on the porch steps, Daryl next to her. He was cleaning the blood that had built up on the heads of his arrows from the quick hunt he had went on about an hour ago. He had been trying to take his mind off Mary, who still hadn't returned. And Andrea's sister wasn't helping, what with all her questions and pacing around. Don't get him wrong, he was happy for his sister, but Jesus Christ, she was annoying.

Carl and Patricia were sitting playing chess behind her. They had asked her to join but she politely refused, wanting to just sit. Her side still hurt, which was understandable. Patricia had recommended doing some exercises since she had been cooped up in that bed, but Cammie had told her she would do it tomorrow. She just wanted to get through this day and get used to not lying down and doing nothing.

She was fidgeting with the rim of the Sheriffs hat Carl had given her when Andrea yelled that there was a walker, alerting everyone in the area.

Daryl and Cammie stood up at the same time. Daryl looked down at his niece, they gave each other a knowing nod, then Daryl jogged off. He didn't want to leave Cammie, but he had to help the rest of the group, he owed them. Cammie walked over with Carl and Patricia, holding her side the whole way there.

"Just the one?" Rick asked Andrea who was looking through binoculars. The light blocked her view slightly, but from what she could see, it was definitely a walker.

"I bet I could nail it from here," She said confidently, leaning down to pick up the rifle.

"No, no," Rick disagreed. "Andrea, put the gun down."

"You'd best let us handle this," Shane agreed with Rick, axe in hand.

"If it's one walker then why are all of you going?" Cammie asked, looking at the five men grabbing weapons to deal with the one walker. "And, didn't Hershel want to deal with them?" She asked again, repeating what she had overheard the night before.

"Where there's one there's normally a lot more," Shane said, staring at the figure of the walker which was small in the distance. "And what's the point, we got it covered."

"In case something goes wrong, as well," Glenn added, reassuringly.

"Or if one of us gets bit," Daryl added.

"Daryl," Glenn said, looking at him then Cammie whose expression he couldn't read.

"What?" He asked, shrugging his shoulders, not sure what he had said wrong. "Am I wrong?" Daryl looked down at Cammie who was fighting a smile. Daryl grinned, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be back in a minute," He told her before he ran off, joining the rest.

The men ran through the field, the figure of the walker becoming clearer with every step. They stopped a few feet in front of the thing, weapons in hand. The walker had dried blood seeping from it's head, blood drying in its clothes, and an arrow in its leg that had been tied off and… wait.

"Mary?" Daryl breathed out, lowering his bow.

"Nice welcoming party," She said, looking all of them and the objects they were going to use to kill her.

"Where the hell have y—," Daryl stepped forward but didn't get to finish as a bullet rang out and his twin dropped to the ground.

Rick yelled 'NO' like it would do something, turning back to face the farm where Andrea had undoubtedly shot Mary, thinking she was a walker. Daryl had dropped down next to his sister to see where she had been hit.

"Shit," he muttered, seeing the bullet had ripped through her cheek and into her earlobe. "Shit, shit, shit," He said again, collecting her in his arms, making sure to avoid the arrow protruding out of her.

"I take it back," she said, every word causing blood to seep out of her cheek. "Worst welcoming party ever."

"Shut up," he told her, running back to the farm with her in his arms, the rest of the guys following swiftly behind him.

**-O-**

By the time dinner time rolled around, spirits were low. Andrea felt so bad because Mary had to get the side of her face stitched up because of her, and had to have an arrow painfully removed from her leg by Hershel which wasn't actually her fault but still looked sore as hell. Daryl felt like shit for even letting his twin go out there in the first place alone, and Glenn was feeling guilty about himself and Maggie. Lori and Shane were still mad at each other, and Hershel was losing trust for everyone in the group fast. All in all, everyone was down, and it would take a miracle to make them feel better.

"Does anyone know how to play guitar?" Glenn suddenly asked from the spare table that had to be pulled out since there were so many people. Only three people weren't having dinner with them, and that was Mary, Carol, and Amy. Mary was bedbound and obviously Amy wouldn't leave her side. The reason Carol was up there was because when they carried Mary into the house, they found Sophia's doll in her bra. Strange place to put it, but they didn't question it. So Carol had decided to stay with the girl who had risked her life to retrieve it in hopes of finding her little girl.

Cammie didn't really know how to feel about all of it. She knew how everyone else felt, though. Shane didn't care, or if he did, he was masking it really well to keep up a tough guy act. Rick seemed to be slipping as well. There was also something off with Dale. The way he looked at Shane with such distrust didn't sit well with her… but Shane saved her life, so she had to be grateful… right?

"Cammie?" She looked up, being pulled out of her little trance.

"What?" she asked, looking around at everyone who had noticed she was daydreaming.

Daryl nodded his head towards Glenn who was holding up a guitar. Cammie looked over at him, her brows furrowed.

"Can you play?"

"Yeah," she admitted, her voice quiet. She had been playing since she could hold a guitar.

"Play something," a voice next to her said as Glenn passed over the instrument. She looked to Carl who was staring at her.

"Yeah," Said Beth, agreeing. She liked music and singing so it only made sense she would want Cammie to. Before long, almost everyone was asking Cammie to play something. It had been so long since they had heard music.

She looked over at Daryl for some help, but he avoided her gaze, choosing to stare down at his plate instead, a grin on his face.

"I don't – Id ont know what…" she trailed off, looking at everyone with a nervous smile.

"Anything you want," Came Hershel's encouraging voice.

"Where did you learn how to play?" Glenn asked before she started, curious.

"My dad taught me," Cammie answered before she started, knowing that the mention of Merle made them all feel guilty. Cammie then cleared her throat and sat the guitar on her lap, getting a feel for it. Then she began to play.

"_Lost in skies of powdered gold, / Caught in clouds of silver ropes, / Showered by the empty hopes, / As I tumble down, falling fast to the ground_.

"_I know I'll wither so peel away the bark, / Because nothing grows when it is dark, / In spite of all my fears, I can see it all so clear, / I see it all so clear_.

"_Whoa-o-o-o, cover your crystal eyes, / And feel the tones that tremble down your spine, / Whoa-o-o-o, cover your crystal eyes, / And let your colours bleed and blend with mine_." She stopped for a breather during the instrumental and looked over at Carl, smiling. She hadn't been so sure when she had started singing, but now she was getting lost in the words.

"_Making waves in pitch black sand, / Feel the salt dance on my hands, / Raw and charcoal coloured thighs feel so cold, / And my skin feels so paper-thin_.

"_I know I'll wither so peel away the bark, / Because nothing grows when it is dark, / In spite of all my fears, I can see it all so clear, / I see it all so clear_.

"_Whoa-o-o-o, cover your crystal eyes, / And feel the tones that tremble down your spine, / Whoa-o-o-o, cover your crystal eyes, / And let your colours bleed and blend with mine_.

"_But I'm okay in see-through skin, / I forgive what is within, / Because I'm in this house, / I'm in this home, / All my time._

"_Whoa-o-o-o, cover your crystal eyes, / And feel the tones that tremble down your spine, / Whoa-o-o-o, cover your crystal eyes, / And let your colours bleed and blend with mine_."

***  
_A/N~ Hey guys, sorry about the lack of updates but school is a bitch. But fear not, as the Christmas break is on and I am writing like crazy. _

_The song sung by Cammie in the end is called '__**Crystals**__' by Of Monsters and Men and it is awesome so you should listen to it._

_Follow/Favourite if you want to see more and PM/Review to tell me what you liked/didn't like about this chapter or the story in general!_

_Until next time, Folks_

_~Danny_


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